Is going flight-free the new veganism?

The uptick in people pledging not to fly is significant. We are living in a post-Greta world

Flygskam (flight shame). Tagskryt (Train brag). Smygflyga (flying in secret). The past couple of years have seen a heap of new vocabulary crop up around the issue of aviation. Prompted by a surge of interest in environmentalism, the idea of giving up air travel has been catapulted into the mainstream almost overnight.

Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg famously did her recent European tour by train, and her mother is one of a number of prominent Swedes who have pledged to go flight-free. But it’s just those crazy, progressive Scandinavians, with their near impeccable human rights records and joined-up social care systems, being a bit overzealous, right? Wrong.

The movement is – excuse the pun – taking off in the UK too. Just this week, the “Pledge to Fly Less” campaign was launched by Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions as part of the national climate change member of parliament lobby day on 26 June. Individuals, groups and businesses are all being encouraged to sign up on the new website, promising to fly less (though no parameters are set for what constitutes “less”).