Boom in use of private jet 'taxis' by rich triggers calls for CO2 crackdown

Private jet use has soared in recent years, with resulting climate-heating emissions rising by 50%, according to the most comprehensive global analysis to date.

- Damian Carrington

The assessment tracked more than 25,000 business jets and almost 19m flights between 2019 and 2023. It found that almost half the jets travelled less than 500km (310 miles) and 900,000 were used "like taxis" for trips of less than 50km. Many flights were for holidays, arriving in sunny locations in summer. The Fifa World Cup finals in Qatar in 2022 attracted more than 1,800 private flights.

Private flights, used by just 0.003% of humans, are the most polluting form of transport. Researchers found passengers in larger private jets caused more CO2 emissions in an hour than the average person did in a year.

The US represented 69% of flights, with Canada, the UK and Australia in the top 10. A private jet takes off every six minutes in the UK. Total emissions from private jet flights in 2023 were more than 15m tonnes, more than the 60 million people of Tanzania emitted.