Switzerland is a paradise for private jets, says report

Geneva is Switzerland's busiest airport for private jets (14,582 private flights departed in 2022). Geneva-Paris was the most frequently used route for private jets. Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

The use of private jets has taken off, especially in the Alpine country. According to a report, Switzerland ranks second behind Malta for private jet flights per capita. Their excessive use is extremely damaging to the environment, says Greenpeace.

In 2022 a total of 35,269 private jet flights – approximately 100 per day – were recorded in Switzerland, according to a Greenpeace-commissioned surveyExternal link, cited in a Le Matin Dimanche/SonntagsZeitung reportExternal link on Sunday. Switzerland was ranked sixth behind the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

On a per capita basis, Switzerland, with its population of 8.7 million, was second behind Malta with 4,054 flights per million inhabitants in 2022. Private jets fly about three times as often per capita here as in France or England – and almost six times as often as in Germany, Le Matin Dimanche/SonntagsZeitung reported.

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According to a studyExternal link by the American think tank Institute for Policy Studies, the number of private and business jets has more than doubled globally over the past 20 years and the pandemic has further accelerated this growth.

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Private flights also have significantly higher emissions per passenger kilometre than other modes of transport. The Transport and Environment NGO calculates that private jets are 5 to 14 times more polluting per passenger than commercial flights, and 50 times more polluting than trains. Some private jets emit two tonnes of CO2 per hour, while the carbon footprint of inhabitants of the EU27 was equal to 6.8 tonnes of per person in 2019 (Eurostat, 2022).

In 2022 the 35,269 private flights in Switzerland generated 166,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, the survey found.

+ It’s time to ban private jets

In the report, Greenpeace Switzerland calls for a ban on private jets. Meanwhile, the Swiss industry association for private and business aviation underlines that private flights generate tens of thousands of jobs and billions in added value.