The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland has coincided with a 170% increase in private flight movements at nearby airports, according to data from Flightradar24. A spokesperson for Zurich Airport told Euronews Green, “Immediately before and during the WEF, we record around 1,000 additional flight movements. These may be business jets, state aircraft or helicopter flights.” In addition, at three other airports serving the area (Saint Moritz, Friedrichshafen and St. Gallen-Alternheim), private flights also increased, by up to a third more than average.
Private flights preferred over free rail travel
The hike in private flight activity comes despite pleas from the WEF and other global NGOs for delegates attending the gathering of the world’s financial decision-makers to take sustainability into account when choosing how to travel. Euractiv notes that the increase in private flights this year, up significantly from 660 in 2023, has occurred despite the Forum offering a 100% discount on rail fares for those coming to Davos from within Europe. “Davos man says no to free rail,” its wry headline read.
Hypocrisy: Influential global leaders flock to WEF by private jet
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 16, 2024
'These are the people telling you to reduce your carbon footprint,' said Ezra Levant.
The Rebel News team is on the ground in Davos, Switzerland as this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) officially gets underway.… pic.twitter.com/BQHKsX2Wv2
Some of the flights were long-haul, with one flying more than 12,000 km to reach Zurich from Kailua-Kona in Hawaii. Others came from as far and wide as Beijing, California, and Seattle.
Short-haul flights, which result in higher emissions per passenger because fuel-heavy operations such as take-off and landing represent a larger proportion of the journey, came in from Genoa, Paris, and Milan – just 204km away from the economic summit and a journey that would have taken just over three hours by a train fully equipped with comfortable tables and onboard WiFi, leaving busy businesspeople plenty of option to work aboard.
Some of the flights were identifiable as carrying government representatives, as in the case of Iraqi, Libyan and Polish official aircraft.
Calls for taxes on super-rich for a green future
Environmental NGOs and campaign groups such as Greenpeace have denounced the use of private jets and helicopters, pointing out that even where flying could be seen as justifiable, there is no reason why Davos delegates could not choose to travel by commercial airliner, as accountancy firm KPMG promised to do this year, sharing their carbon footprint with hundreds of other passengers. Transport and Environment has noted that taking a public flight from the US to Switzerland could reduce an executive’s carbon emissions by 87%.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace has attempted to block access to the Davos Lago heliport and has protested in the Forum’s main congress hall with banners calling for taxes on the super-rich and funding for “a Just and Green future”.
