Normal flows of fossil fuels from the Gulf have effectively been at a standstill since the war broke out and the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded, leading to shortages and flight cancellations
Private jet usage is on the up(Image: Getty Images)
Billionaires and the ultra-rich are taking more and more private jet flights despite a jet fuel crisis in commercial aviation.
While major airlines cancel tens of thousands of flights due to jet fuel issues caused by the Iran War, chartered and private aviation is booming, according to analysis shared with the Mirror.
“Aside from the Middle East, the global private jet industry has not been affected by rising fuel costs,” Nick Koscinski, analyst at WINGX Advance aviation data firm, told the Mirror. “In fact, global private jet flights are up 4.7% year-to-date through 19 April.”
In US cities that have been hit by Transportation Security Administration staff shortages amid a pay freeze, there have been much higher usage rises, with a 17% yearly increase in Washington, DC, and Houston.
Normal flows of fossil fuels from the Gulf have effectively been at a standstill since the war broke out and the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded. A fifth of the world’s oil and gas typically flows through the Strait.
Last week, global jet fuel shipments fell to the lowest recorded level. Just under 2.3m tonnes of jet fuel and kerosene were transported on ships in the seven days to 26 April, according to data company Kpler. The figure represents less than half the average weekly volume shipped before the war. Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency warned that Europe could run out of jet fuel in weeks.
WINGX Advance analysis notes that Jet A1 prices have approximately doubled since January, and they represent about 30% of variable operating costs for private jet operators.
“So this cost is significant. Our impression is that the cost increase has largely been passed through to end-users. As flight activity for private jets is up this year vs last year, clearly demand seems to be inelastic at least for now,” analyst Richard Koe added.
Flying in a private jet is one of the most fuel-intensive, emissions-spewing activities a human can engage in.
Overall, private aviation emissions increased by 46% between 2019 and 2023, with industry expectations of continued strong growth, according to a Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment study.
It also found that most of these small planes spew more heat-trapping carbon dioxide in about two hours of flying than the average person does in about a year.
In 2023, roughly a quarter million of the super wealthy, who were worth a total of $31 trillion, emitted 17.2 million tons (15.6 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide flying in private jets. That’s about the same amount as the overall yearly emissions of the 67 million people who live in Tanzania.
Stefan Gössling, a transportation researcher at the business school of Sweden’s Linnaeus University, said the issue wasn’t so much the emissions, which remain a small part of those produced globally, but the lack of fairness.
“The damage is done by those with a lot of money and the cost is borne by those with very little money,” Gössling said. A separate report by Oxfam claimed that billionaires emit more carbon pollution in 90 minutes than the average person does in a lifetime.