Flight Shame Is A Thing. Should We Stop Flying?

The Problem with Flying

By know most people are aware that flying is the least environment-friendly mode of transport. We’re not just talking CO2 emissions. In higher altitudes emitted particles (amongst other pollutants) produce cirrus clouds that have a 3-times higher climate effect than CO2.

Take off and landing are especially fuel consuming. If you go away for just a few days or add multiple stops to your journey because those 100 bucks you’re saving compared to a direct flight is well worth the fun of queuing up at customs at every single airport.

However, flying in itself is not the root of the problem. In fact, planes are a secure and time-efficient way to travel long distances. The underlying issue is that even modern aircrafts require kerosene derived from fossil fuels to power their engines. Alternatives such as electric or hydrogen planes are played with, but won’t be mass market ready for another decade or two. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) does exist, but still has little demand and is therefor too expensive and not available on a large enough scale despite still producing green house gases and other pollutants.

I’ve been to Colombia last year. Already on the way there, before even setting foot on the streets of Bogotá my “climate impact” was 2425 kg of CO2 according to Atmosfair.de. That’s already well over the yearly emissions budget of 2300 kg CO2 that every person would have if we wanted to limit global warming to 1,5 °C. Climate impact and your personal carbon footprint are pretty abstract concepts and hard to actually picture. What’s not so abstract and pretty damn real is the fact that while people in Central Europa are sort of happy about a summer you’d get in Sydney while people in Sydney choke on the smoke of the fires burning in their backyards and elsewhere people are having to leave their homes because the area they’ve known has become uninhabitable.

BUT, not flying at all in the current world order isn’t really an option either. Here’s why..

I Believe I Can Fly AND Do Good!

If some people decide to no longer fly – good on ‘ya! If we all stopped travelling to places we can only reach by plane one in ten people on the planet (that’s how many are currently directly or indirectly involved in tourism) will have a much harder time to make a living,

Do I have a bad conscience that I’ve flown to Colombia knowing of the effects every kg CO2 has? I do! Do I feel ashamed I visited an aspiring country, meeting incredible people listening to their live stories and spending money to stay, eat and travel around for 3 weeks? No, I don’t! One of the best days I had was when Gloria, a lady in her late 50s who makes her living by showing travellers around her home town Salamina and Colombia’s Coffee Region. Most tourists go to Salento since the guide books and travel blogs will tell you that’s the place to be. I got to experience an area equally stunning without stepping on other peoples toes and got to practice my Spanish with Gloria who was happy to be working that day.

I also went on a jungle trek with Leo. He had only just started out with his tour company and I was one of the first customers. After a day of hiking we reached a hillside coffee farm where we would stay for the night. At dinner with the family I learned more about how much effort it is to grow, harvest, dry and roast coffee beans, but also that in recent years the market rate for coffee has dropped so much that they hardly make enough to feed their kids. Since Leo suggested to use their spare bedroom for visitors, they welcome a few people every other week which helps to generate some extra income.

Appreciation, Respect and Mango Smoothies

Despite the socio-economical benefits tourism brings, travelling places & experiencing other cultures puts life in a perspective too many people are oblivious to.

When you spend only a couple of hours wading through mud in 35 degree heat to plant rice in Vietnam you appreciate the sweat it takes and also wonder how a pack of rice in the store can be so damn cheap.

You learn that living in a tin-shack  in a village outside Kathmandu with no running water and (even worse) no high speed internet to post food pics on Instagram still means you can live a happy life.

You understand that even when you crave a delicious mango smoothie for dinner to go with your Thai curry, you’re gonna have to opt for coconut since (crazily enough) that local Thai restaurant won’t actually fly in mangos from Brazil for you when they’re not in season right now.

To Be or Not to Be (Ashamed)

I have a whole lot of respect if you’ve decided not to fly at all anymore due to it’s negative effects. I think we need to “unlearn” many of the things we consider to be normal today and learn to be more responsible and savvy with the resources we have. We live in a complex world with complex issues we need to solve. We tend to isolate environmental issues and detach the discussion around actions we need to take without also considering social and economical factors. Instead, we need to find solutions that balance all those aspects equally. That’s the principle of sustainability.

What can everyone do today?

• Avoid flying for weekend trips or short getaways. Take the train, bus or even car pool wherever possible.
• When going on long-haul trips, go less often and stay for longer. Travel slowly and avoid domestic flights. Local trains and busses are an experience in itself and a great way to meet locals.
• Take direct flights rather than many stopovers. Check whether your airline has a modern fleet and CSR policy.
• Go local and buy local. Stay in locally owned & small-scale hotels. Eat local dishes in local restaurants.
• Compensate for UNAVOIDABLE emissions.
• Make responsible choices in other areas of life: switch to a green energy provider, eat less meat (watched the Game Changers yet?), consume less stuff you don’t really need, buy second hand or at least buy from responsible sources, order less online.