Flight-Free Movement Grows in Europe

According to an article by Sara Ullström and Kimberly Nicholas, the Swedish are increasingly advocating avoiding air travel as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

Ullström and Nicholas analyzed media from 1950 to 2019 to assess how views on holiday travel in Sweden have changed. They found that Swedish media, which at first presented air travel as a luxury, now more often links it to debates about climate change and civic responsibility. Since 2016, the language around air travel has shifted to emphasizing its environmental impact. As Ullström and Nicholas write, "Discussions about avoiding flying became far more high profile from 2016 when celebrities, journalists, academics, and campaigners started to publicly pledge to stop flying in the Swedish news media."

The growing 'flight-free movement' in Europe questions the necessity of air travel–80 percent of which is for leisure or holiday travel in Sweden–and calls on people to seek out vacation experiences that are closer to home and accessible by train. Earlier this year, France banned air travel for trips that can be taken by train in under two and a half hours as part of its effort to reduce GHG emissions by 40 percent by 2030.