A Greenpeace report examined Austria’s private jet industry for the first time. Accordingly, there are currently 227 active private aircraft registered in Austria. In the past four years, they have caused no less than 407,000 tons of CO2 emissions, flew about 96 million kilometers and thus circled the earth 2,399 times, the NGO criticized.
According to the report, more than half of all climate-damaging emissions from private jets are caused by the three charter airlines Avcon Jet, Sparfell and GlobeAir. The Glock, Porsche and Red Bull groups are therefore “the most prominent companies with their own private aircraft”. “While the world is on fire, a small elite is flying around the world like there is no tomorrow. A ban on private jets is essential to bring a clear end to this climate-damaging business across Europe,” said Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace in Austria.
Greenpeace calls for ban on private jets
Greenpeace called on the Austrian government to “put an end to these excessive luxury emissions and commit to a ban on private jets”. Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) should also put the issue on the agenda at the next EU transport summit in early June, Greenpeace argued on appeal.
Pandemic caused more private flights
The analysis looked at the Austrian private aircraft that were active at the beginning of this year and reported to the Austrian aviation authority Austro Control and their flight movements between 2019 and 2022. The report shows that the private aviation industry is growing strongly. “In 2022, climate-damaging emissions rose to record levels, more than doubling the number of private flights between 2019 and 2022,” the NGO says. The corona pandemic gave the industry an extra boost.
Two-thirds of all private flights are therefore short-haul flights. “The route most flown by Austrian private jets is Paris – Geneva: a route that can be reached by train in just 3.5 hours,” criticized Greenpeace. The basis of the Greenpeace analysis was the database of the crowdsourcing platform Opensky Networks, which was linked to the data of the Austrian aviation authority.
Source: Krone
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