Flight Carbon Footprint Calculator
Estimate the CO₂e of a flight per passenger, by distance and haul type, with a car-distance equivalent.
Result
CO₂e (kg/passenger)
380
Equivalent car distance (km)
2,235
How it works
This estimates the climate impact of a flight per passenger in economy, using order-of-magnitude factors: about 0.25 kg CO₂e per km for short hops, 0.19 for medium routes and 0.15 for long haul. Short flights cost more per kilometre because takeoff and climb — the most fuel-hungry phases — dominate the trip. The figures are CO₂-equivalents: burning kerosene at altitude also produces contrails and nitrogen oxides whose warming effect roughly doubles that of the CO₂ alone, and the factors include that. A 4,200 km one-way long-haul flight comes to about 630 kg CO₂e — comparable to several months of average car use, which the car-equivalent output makes concrete. Real emissions vary with aircraft, load factor and class: business class roughly doubles or triples the footprint because each seat takes more floor space.
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Frequently asked questions
Why do short flights emit more per kilometre?
Takeoff and climb burn far more fuel than cruising. On a short flight those phases are most of the trip; on a long flight they are diluted over thousands of cruise kilometres.
Why CO₂e and not just CO₂?
At altitude, contrails and nitrogen oxides add warming beyond the CO₂ itself — roughly doubling the impact. CO₂e (equivalent) folds those non-CO₂ effects into one number.
Does travel class change my footprint?
Yes. Business and first class take 2–3× the floor space of an economy seat, so each passenger carries a proportionally larger share of the plane’s emissions.
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