Jet–setters pledge to ditch air travel to save the environment

11/02/2007

The Bishop of London has done it. So have lawyers teachers gardeners and at least one MEP. The latest trend in jetting around the globe is: not jetting around the globe.

A growing army of eco-refuseniks is making the ultimate sacrifice in the age of cheap air travel by pledging to give up flying and using slower modes of transport instead.

Research for the aviation industry estimates that up to 3 per cent of regular flyers in Britain have stopped boarding flights because of concerns about the environmental impact.

The previously unpublicised findings from a survey for the British Air Transport Association (Bata) the trade body for UK airlines found that a further 10 per cent of flyers - more than 20 million people - had reduced their air travel because of concern about climate change.