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A new study commissioned by Greenpeace shows that the number of private jet flights in Europe increased by 64% in 2022, up to a staggering 572,806 flights per year, and in Spain this was even higher, increasing by 74%.

 

Even as Europe struggles with a climate emergency that is causing unprecedented winter heatwaves and worrying droughts, emissions from private jets continue to grow and doubled last year, spewing 3.3 million tonnes of CO2 into the air – the equivalent of the annual CO2 emissions of 555,000 people.

 

The study also found that 55% of all private jet flights in Europe last year were short or ultra-short flights of less than 750km, which could have been made by train or ferry in a similar time.

 

For these reasons, Greenpeace has called for a ban on private jets and has just launched a worldwide petition for public support.

 

 

In 2022, Palma Airport was the airport with the most business aviation traffic in Spain, followed by Ibiza Airport. In fact, Mallorca Airport ranked eighth in Europe in 2022, with 7,932 private flights. This was followed by 6,606 flights by private jets at Ibiza airport and 6,237 at Madrid-Barajas airport.

 

“As the world faces a global energy crisis that threatens the livelihoods of millions of people and a growing climate crisis, it is time to end private planes as the most unequal and polluting mode of transport,” said Javier Soto, spokesperson for Greenpeace in the Balearic Islands. “A ban on private planes would be a good sign of justice for Balearic citizens in the context of the current climate emergency.”

 

According to the study, Spain ranks fourth in the list of EU countries with the most flights made by private jets last year, with 45,633 flights, just after the UK, France and Germany.

 

In 2022, around 8% of all private jet flights in Europe departed from Spain. Flights by private jets in Spain increased from 26,2390 in 2021 to 45,633 in 2022, a jump of 74% in a single year. Meanwhile, CO2 emissions have almost doubled from 126,786 tonnes in 2021 to 243,851 tonnes in 2022.

 

Spanish President Pedro Sánchez has been criticised for taking private jet and helicopter flights to make journeys that could easily have been made on land, sometimes even within the same city.

 

Private jets and the emissions they produce are currently unregulated in the EU and are excluded from EU legislation to address greenhouse gas emissions, despite the fact that they are the most polluting, energy-wasteful and least cost-effective form of transport per passenger kilometre. Moreover, almost all refuelling in air navigation is now tax-free.

 

Private jets cause five to 14 times more CO2 emissions per passenger than the average commercial aircraft and 50 times more than trains. In 2018, 50% of all aviation emissions were caused by just 1% of the world's population. Meanwhile, 80% of the world’s people have never even flown before, although they are the ones who bear the brunt of the climate crisis, battling extreme heatwaves, floods and increasingly frequent and dangerous droughts caused by the damaging consequences of private jet and aviation emissions.

 

“In a context where citizens have been asked to save energy wherever possible, the rich continue to indulge in excessive energy wastefulness by flying private jets that propel us towards climate disaster,” said Klara Maria Schenk, Transport Officer for Greenpeace EU’s ‘Mobility for All’ campaign.

 

“If governments are serious about reducing CO2 emissions, private jets must be banned and a fair transport system put in place.”

 

 

Images: Greenpeace