Travel boom in summer

Private jet vacations: 520,000 tons of CO2 emissions

Greenpeace is once again calling for an EU-wide ban on private jets.

(Bild: Huber Patrick/Patrick Huber)

The main reason for flights in private jets in Europe during the summer months is vacation and leisure travel, according to a new analysis by Greenpeace. The most popular destinations include Nice, Geneva and Palma de Mallorca. The damage to the environment amounts to 520,000 tons of CO2. 

Summertime is travel time - and the higher income bracket, among others, likes to take advantage of this in the form of private jet flights, according to a new analysis by Greenpeace. According to the analysis, there were over 117,000 flights to summer destinations last year, which caused more than 520,000 tons of climate-damaging CO2 emissions.

There were more than 5,650 private jet landings at the two Austrian airports examined in 2023 in Salzburg and Klagenfurt alone, with 4,511 aircraft landing in the city of Mozart and 1,148 in Klagenfurt.

Greenpeace calls for an EU-wide ban on private jets
With its high number of landings, Salzburg ranked tenth among the 45 airports surveyed in Europe. Private jet traffic increased significantly, particularly during the Salzburg Festival. According to the Greenpeace analysis, private jets in Klagenfurt caused more than half of the CO2 emissions in just four months during the summer months. Greenpeace is therefore once again calling for an EU-wide ban on private jets.

"While people in Europe are struggling with the catastrophic effects of the summer drought and floods, the super-rich are jetting carefree through Europe and heading for European summer hotspots. This must come to an end," said Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace.

Flights doubled compared to low season 
Almost half of all flights analyzed (42.6 percent) took place in the vacation season between June and September. This resulted in 41.6 percent of CO2 emissions for the entire year.

According to the analysis, arrivals at popular summer destinations also doubled in the summer months compared to the low season. In July, they even increased by an average of 250 percent compared to January. Almost twelve percent of all private flights analyzed covered less than 250 kilometers in the air. The NGO called for such short distances to be covered by climate-friendly trains.