Is going flight-free the new veganism?

The uptick in people pledging not to fly is significant. We are living in a post-Greta world

Flygskam (flight shame). Tagskryt (Train brag). Smygflyga (flying in secret). The past couple of years have seen a heap of new vocabulary crop up around the issue of aviation. Prompted by a surge of interest in environmentalism, the idea of giving up air travel has been catapulted into the mainstream almost overnight.

Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg famously did her recent European tour by train, and her mother is one of a number of prominent Swedes who have pledged to go flight-free. But it’s just those crazy, progressive Scandinavians, with their near impeccable human rights records and joined-up social care systems, being a bit overzealous, right? Wrong.

The movement is – excuse the pun – taking off in the UK too. Just this week, the “Pledge to Fly Less” campaign was launched by Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions as part of the national climate change member of parliament lobby day on 26 June. Individuals, groups and businesses are all being encouraged to sign up on the new website, promising to fly less (though no parameters are set for what constitutes “less”).

It doesn’t go quite as far as Flight Free UK, another campaign that asks participants to pledge to stop flying in 2020. The target is to get 100,000 signatures – so far just shy of 2,000 people have signed up. Although it has a way to go, the campaign is already gaining far more traction and attention than I suspect it would have done a year or two ago.

You only have to look at the reaction to Emma Thompson flying from LA to London to lend her support to the Extinction Rebellion protest in April to see how much public opinion has changed on this issue. She was pilloried by the right and left, the former taking particular delight in crowing about the actor and activist’s “hypocrisy”. Five years ago, I simply don’t believe anyone would have batted an eyelid, let alone turned her actions into front-page news. We are living in a post-Greta world.

So where does all this leave us, an island nation with limited options when it comes to travelling without turning to aviation? Well, a good start would be tackling the sky-high rail fares and frequent strikes and stoppages that prevent many from opting to go by train domestically. If the government really care about reaching the carbon zero 2050 goal, encouraging people to use public transport would be best accomplished by addressing a rail network that is simply not fit for purpose, neither in terms of service nor price.

The fact that Network Rail was found to be encouraging rail bosses to travel within the UK by plane rather than train – because the latter is more expensive – perfectly sums up how ludicrous the situation is. I don’t think we’re all going to completely stop flying anytime soon. But I do think that going flight-free, like veganism, is going to become increasingly fashionable. And, just like with veganism, businesses are going to have to keep up with, and adapt to, our greener life choices if they want to survive.

Yours,

Helen Coffey

Deputy head of travel