Private jet travel should be restricted amid fuel shortage fears, majority of Brits say
As concerns grow about the Middle East crisis, a new poll shows a majority of British people support restricting private jet travel due to potential fuel shortages.
The survey, conducted by Survation on behalf of green advocacy group Possible, found that more than two-thirds (66 per cent) of more than 2,000 UK adults believe the use of private jets should be reduced if necessary, rather than canceling standard passenger flights.
This choice is valid even if it means limiting private jet passengers’ travel options.
Support for the measure spanned the political spectrum; 64 per cent of Labor voters, 70 per cent of Reform supporters, 62 per cent of Conservative voters, 76 per cent of Liberal Democrats and 67 per cent of Green voters support the restriction.
Nearly 20 percent of respondents said standard passenger flights should be canceled rather than restricting private jet travel, even if it meant disrupting holiday plans.
14 percent said they were undecided.
The findings come as global fuel supplies face increasing pressure due to Iran’s claimed control over tankers sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, amid ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel.
While ministers say UK airlines are not currently experiencing fuel shortages, fears are growing that mass cancellations and rising fares will impact people’s summer holidays.
The fuel burned annually by UK private jets is equivalent to around 730,000 family holidays in the Mediterranean, Possible said, based on a comparative analysis of shared private jets with standard UK flights.
Possible’s head of aviation, Alethea Warrington, said restricting private jets and diverting fuel to holiday flights in the event of fuel shortages was a “no-brainer”.
He said: “People deserve a summer holiday. The Government must stop private jet flights before the crisis spirals out of control and hundreds of thousands of people lose their only chance of escape this year.”
A separate analysis by Transport and Environment (T&E), which campaigns for clean transport, found nearly two million liters of kerosene were burned on private flights to and from the Cannes Film Festival last May.
The group estimated that 750 flights would operate to Cannes for the event; This number is equivalent to 14,000 passengers on commercial return flights from Paris to Athens.
As this year’s film festival kicks off in France on Tuesday, T&E’s deputy director for aviation, Jerome du Boucher, said governments had “no excuse” not to ground private jets altogether, given the fuel crisis.
Katie Thompson, a former private jet pilot, joined the group’s call to crack down on private jet use.
“If we look at last year, this year we will see world movie stars burning two million liters of fuel at the Cannes Film Festival,” he said.
“As climate change accelerates, this reckless overreach is outrageous, especially when limited amounts of fuel are desperately needed elsewhere for basic food production, disaster relief efforts, and other humanitarian emergencies.”
Anthony Viaux, a former Air France pilot of more than 20 years, said: “As a pilot, you are at the forefront of climate change.
“For the rich and famous to consume scarce fuel to get to a film festival is not only tone-deaf, it’s obscene.
“We call on policymakers to cancel all private flights with immediate effect.”
A UK Government spokesman said: “UK airlines are clear that they are not seeing any disruption to supply at this time.
“Although private aircraft use a very small proportion of fuel compared to the rest of the industry, all options for fuel prioritization will be considered as part of sensible contingency planning.”
