According to Doug Parr, flying may appear to be a cost-effective option, but that’s only because the price of pollution is so low. Greenpeace has discovered that the price differences between flying and rail travel stem from an unequal regulatory playing field that harms both the environment and workers’ rights. In its analysis of ticket prices for over 100 routes between major European cities, Greenpeace found that many rail journeys were twice as expensive as flying, despite the availability of direct routes. Surprisingly, flying was even cheaper on all 12 routes examined from the UK, including the popular London to Edinburgh route.
The biggest price discrepancy was found when comparing the cost of traveling from London to Barcelona. Greenpeace found that taking a train was on average ten times more expensive than flying, and could be as much as thirty times pricier if booked last minute. Although the Eurostar emits fewer emissions than planes and offers regular services to the European continent, its ticket prices are significantly higher.
Greenpeace highlighted that traveling by train is five times less polluting than flying. However, on 79 out of the 112 routes analyzed across 27 European countries, flying was still the cheaper option. Dr. Doug Parr, Director of Policy at Greenpeace UK, criticized the transport industry’s economics, claiming that holidaymakers are being encouraged to exacerbate the climate crisis due to the distorted costs associated with pollution. He also criticized low-cost airlines for paying minimal taxes and subjecting their staff to low wages and poor conditions.
Greenpeace dubbed the UK’s 12 routes the “dirty dozen” and pointed out that train travel cannot compete when a ticket from London to Barcelona can cost as little as €12.99. Greenpeace estimated that swapping the 3.36 million annual flights on this route for rail travel would save approximately 461,000 tons of greenhouse gases.
The organization noted that despite the numerous daily train connections, 3.4 million passengers still choose to fly between London and Edinburgh each year. Greenpeace is urging the government to prohibit short-haul flights where viable rail alternatives exist, eliminate subsidies for airlines and airports, phase out tax exemptions for kerosene, and introduce a frequent flyer levy. Furthermore, they propose the implementation of “climate tickets,” allowing travel on low-carbon modes of public transportation within a country or region.
A separate analysis conducted by Transport and Environment, a clean transport campaign group, recently revealed that the UK is missing out on £4.7 billion / €5.4bn in tax revenue that it could be collecting from the aviation sector. In response, a spokesperson for the UK government stated that they are committed to decarbonizing air travel without limiting demand. They highlighted their Jet Zero Strategy, outlining their plan for achieving net-zero aviation by 2050. The recent reforms to air passenger tax mean that those who fly the longest distances and have the greatest emissions impact face higher costs.
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