In the first nine months of 2022, some 16,147 private flights were operated to and from Schiphol and Rotterdam airports in the Netherlands, more private flights than in the whole of 2019, before the pandemic. , demonstrated, Thursday, October 19, a study by the environmental organization Greepeace.
The increasingly frequent use of this luxury transport is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of nearly 40,000 cars per year.
“We are shocked that in times of climate crisis, a certain group has started flying not less but more in private jets which are the most polluting”said Dewi Zloch, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace Netherlands. “We have to stop this, so we are pleading for a ban on private flights”she added, quoted in a press release.
Destinations “easily accessible by train”
The study by Dutch environmental think tank CE Delft also showed that one in three private flights departing from Amsterdam’s Schiphol or The Hague-Rotterdam airport were used for journeys of less than 500 kilometres.
“Popular destinations include Paris and even Antwerp, cities easily accessible by train”described Greenpeace. “The most popular flights are to destinations like Mallorca, Ibiza and Cannes”the organization added.
Greenpeace pointed out that private flights are not included in the climate targets set by the Dutch government and are not included in the maximum of 440,000 flights per year set for 2023 at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
“This exception for private jets shows exactly what is wrong with the aviation industry”added M.me Zloch. “We want the aviation industry to stop polluting and finally have climate goals. »
“The first step is to eliminate short flights and luxury private jets for the rich”according to Ms. Zloch.
Business class passengers also take up a lot of space on planes. According to the study, if business class were replaced by regular seats, many more passengers could fit in the aircraft.