Is Air Travel Always the Worst Transport Option
Launch library · evergreen read
Air travel is often singled out as uniquely damaging among transport options, and per passenger kilometre it does generally carry a higher emissions footprint than many alternatives, but the comparison depends considerably on the specific trip, the distance involved and what the realistic alternative to flying actually would have been.
For very long distances where the practical alternative would be an equally long drive alone in a car, the emissions comparison between flying and driving can be closer than the simple reputation of air travel as uniquely bad might otherwise suggest, since a single occupant car trip is also relatively inefficient per person carried.
Where a genuinely viable alternative exists, such as rail for many shorter or medium distance regional trips, that alternative is generally considerably lower emission than flying the same route, which is part of why transport choice advice usually focuses on distance and available alternatives rather than treating flying as universally the single worst option available in every case.