Why do Europeans suffer from flight shyness and trade the plane for the train

The phenomenon began to gain popularity before the pandemic in 2019, when environmental activist Greta Thunberg announced that she would no longer take to the skies. He later proved his point by making a double crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on a racing yacht in 2019 to attend climate conferences in America.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the shame of flying has gained a different perspective. It was particularly widespread in the UK during this period as the government banned all but essential travel in the first half of 2021. This also saw travelers trying to hide their flight from friends and family. fear of a backlash, a phenomenon known as “Att smygflyga” or flying in secret.

Since the pandemic, flight shaming has intensified as the focus returns to mitigating climate change. In continental Europe, non-flying travel is relatively easy thanks to the Schengen area, which allows border-free travel within the European Union.

Rail services are often fast, cheap and reliable, which has led several European governments to try to ban short-haul domestic flights. For example, in June 2023, France formally introduced a ban on short-haul domestic flights of less than 2.5 hours, where there is an alternative by rail. The popularity of train travel has led to a word to describe posting train travel on social media: “Tågskryt, “ a Swedish word literally meaning “train praise”.

Those hardest hit by flight shaming are often aviation and travel enthusiasts who view these activities as a hobby and will fly unusual routes to maintain their frequent flyer status and earn air miles. These routes can often involve flying long distances off-road or making multiple stops to maximize status point gains. Criticism from others may lead these travelers to hide their flight, although many take the view that the plane will fly whether or not they are on board, so they do not feel inclined to change their behavior.

Sustainable aviation?

However, the consequences of travelers being forced to abandon flights for other forms of transport may not be fully understood. For transatlantic flights, there are no easy alternatives for most people, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon. While there are ready-made alternatives for many forms of transport, the technology to make flying carbon neutral is not yet available.

While sustainable airline fuel is produced in factories, and recently in November 2023 Virgin Atlantic made the first transatlantic flight using 100% SAF (sustainable aviation fuel), there is nowhere near enough production capacity for it to to be a viable alternative. to throw fuel soon. SAF is also often misunderstood because it does not remove aircraft CO2 emissions as chemically, it is almost identical to standard fuel. However, it balances the carbon emissions produced during flight with the carbon absorbed during fuel production.

The biggest impact of flight shaming and any subsequent behavioral change is likely to be economic. Aviation supports 12 million jobs in the EU, according to trade body Aviation for Europe, which is around 1% of all jobs, both direct and indirect, while accounting for more than 4% of EU GDP. It is also a crucial entry into the European tourism industry, which accounts for 10% of the continent’s GDP. Despite aviation and travel setbacks during the pandemic, the market size of the European airline industry was valued at USD 65.1 billion in 2022, according to Market Research Future. The European aerospace market industry is estimated to grow to USD 86.43 billion by 2032.

How much influence the flight shaming movement will have on passenger numbers in the long run remains to be seen. Aviation only contributes about 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, but it receives much more attention than other forms of transport, perhaps because it is seen as a luxury for many. Given the high demand and prices for flights since the pandemic is abating slightly now, the initial enthusiasm of people like Greta Thunberg has yet to dampen the global appetite to take to the skies.