Flight Free UK
@FlightFreeUK
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Flight Free UK is now on Bluesky – come and find us there: https://t.co/5HaLE5rT6G
Joined November 2018
We were at St Pancras today saying “thank you for not flying” to everyone waiting for the Eurostar 🙌
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Spain is planning to ban domestic flights if there's a 2.5 hr rail link. Like in France, the proposal was originally more ambitious, to ban flights with a 4 hr rail alternative. But it's a start, and shows that politicians are considering the climate.
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This is promising: Spain is proposing to ban flights with a 2.5 hour rail alternative, as France has. Like in France, the proposal has been watered down from 4 hours. but it's a start and shows that positive climate action is catching.
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The irony of people wanting refunds on their flights because there's no snow for skiing. If the mountains aren't covered in snow in winter, it's probably a sign that we should be flying less. Credit @PrivateEyeNews
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Private jets are between four and 15 times more polluting than commercial aircraft, and 50 times more polluting than trains. Is it time to ban private jets?
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This is how a real leader travels, not by private jet between UK cities.
I’m glad to be in the UK today to meet with Prime Minister @RishiSunak. I’m looking forward to turning a page and opening a new chapter with our partner and friend.
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Lots of hype around the Virgin Atlantic 100% SAF-fuelled flight today. The main thing this flight does is allow government and industry to pretend that we can continue to fly as much as we like with no harm to the environment. Here's the reality 🧵.
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It's no quicker to fly between London and Edinburgh than take the train, and the CO2 savings are immense: 165kg by air, 12.5kg by train. We're asking the UK gov to remove flight routes with a 4.5 hr train alternative. Please sign 👉.
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The reality of biofuels👇. So often, people cite biofuels as the answer, but their development will only provide a licence to keep flying. Biofuel production is a major cause of deforestation. The unpopular answer is that we MUST fly less.
New Report:."The aviation industry’s climate targets are likely to lead to a dramatic increase in demand for palm oil and soy for aviation biofuels" @RainforestNORW. @AmazonWatch @RnfrstAlliance.@FlightFree2020 #flygskam @IATA.@icaoFangLIU @icao.#PalmOil.
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Did you know? Taking a train across Europe can save 91% on your emissions compared to a flight. So for that last sunshine holiday of the year, how about going by train? 😎
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Start by not taking a flight.
Tourism bosses have said it may become too hot to have the peak holiday season in July and August. With Europe currently experiencing an extreme heatwave, officials in Spain say they're planning what measures they need to protect tourism from the effects of global warming.
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Train travel in the UK is on average 6 times less polluting than flying, and on certain routes it's 13 times less polluting. That's why we're asking the government to remove air routes where there's a viable rail alternative. Sign the petition:
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However you feel about the tactics, the message is sound: private jets are 40 times more polluting per passenger than commercial aircraft, and symbolise the huge inequality of the climate crisis, where the rich fly, and everyone else suffers.
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It’s perverse that frequent flyers are rewarded for polluting. Why aren’t we taxing them instead?
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'Ghost' flights are a shocking waste of resources and a needless source of emissions, with no benefit to anyone. This practice should be stopped. Sign our petition asking the government to remove landing slot regulations and end ghost flights 👇👇.
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If we banned flights on the two busiest UK domestic routes, it would save 1.75 million tonnes CO2 per year. This is the kind of radical climate policy we'd like to see from our leaders. Read more here: and sign the petition here:
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Thank you @RishiSunak for taking the sleeper train to Cornwall instead of your helicopter. We hope you had a sound night's sleep. Can you now please invest in an affordable, reliable rail service, so that trains become the default choice for travellers?.
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Yes! This is what happens when people choose train over plane. The market changes. Consumer choices are powerful! . Night train between Berlin and Paris returning 9 years after being cancelled.
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Did you know that if aviation fuel were taxed it would raise £7bn per year? If we invested this in sustainable infrastructure we could slash train fares by two-thirds, according to research by @_wearepossible. See more on the inequality of aviation:
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No, @DailyMailUK, let's not get Britain flying again. Before lockdown, Brits took more flights than any other nation. Not such a great accolade when we're facing climate breakdown, and need to be drastically reducing our emissions. We should be flying less!
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Great @guardian article. Airport expansion is just not compatible with reaching our emissions reduction targets. "If the UK government were serious about the climate emergency it would think again about a third runway at Heathrow."
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We have just launched a petition asking the government to ban domestic flights where there's a direct rail link of 4.5 hours or less. Please sign and share!
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Could a domestic flight ban be applied in the UK? We're asking the government to follow France's lead and remove the option to fly on routes with direct rail links of 4.5 hours or less. Sign and share:
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This is just. shocking. Every one of these is fuelled by kerosene. Airlines might tell us that technology and 'sustainable' fuel will solve the emissions problem, but that picture right there is the reality.
Yesterday was the busiest day for commercial aviation that we’ve ever tracked. We tracked 134,386 commercial flights on 6 July and today is shaping up to be another busy day. More than 20,000 flights are in the air right now.
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The French ban on domestic flights comes into force today, applying to routes with a 2.5 hr rail connection. Lon-Paris falls under that time window. Is it time to ban flights from London to Paris?!.
The cut off is greater than the fast Eurostar journey from Paris to London.
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Did you know? Switching from plane to train on our two busiest domestic routes (Lon-Edin & Lon-Glasg) would save 1.75 million tonnes CO2 per year. That's the kind of climate action we need to see if we are to reach our net zero targets. Sign the petition:
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This is FANTASTIC news: Edinburgh council bans SUV and cruise ship ads in climate crackdown. It also covers airlines and airports. The council said "the promotion of high-carbon products is incompatible with net zero objectives." 👏.
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APD will be halved for domestic flights on Saturday, making it even cheaper to fly. The London-Edinburgh route is predicted to benefit the most. Just a reminder that this is ALREADY the busiest air route in the UK, and has a direct rail connection. #TrainsNotPlanes
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A THREAD ON AVIATION & #ClimateBreakdown.Climate scientists & environmentalists have been highlighting the huge impact flying has on an individual's carbon footprint for decades, but the message hasn't sunk in, particularly with us Brits, who fly more than any other nation …
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Should a domestic flight ban be applied to the UK? @TomSmallwoodZ looks at the potential impact of a France-style policy of airlines not competing with rail on journeys under 2.5 hours.
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Taking the train on this route saves 96% on your emissions.
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Flying from Edinburgh to London: 165kg CO2 per person. Taking the train: 12.5kg CO2 per person. In a climate emergency it makes sense not to fly on routes where there's a much less polluting option. Sign our petition if you agree!.
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"Rail journeys between Edinburgh and London are set to be cut to around four hours from December.". The new service is expected to have lower fares and will make the train journey as fast as a flight. Great news! 🙌.
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Turns out the Green Travel List isn't that green after all.
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“€10 airline tickets are only possible because workers and taxpayers pay the true cost. For the planet and people’s sake, politicians must turn this situation around and make the train the more affordable option.” @GreenpeaceUK @Greenpeace .
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‘21 per cent spike in train travel in Sweden last winter. inspired by research which shows that a plane emits 285g of carbon dioxide per passenger km, compared to a train’s mere 14g.’. Can we inspire and achieve the same in the UK?!. #flightfree2020 .
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Aviation policy from a climate-friendly government:.1. No airport expansion.2. Tax aviation fuel.3. Frequent flyer levy.4. Carbon labelling on tickets.5. Ban flight adverts.6. Ban domestic flights with rail alternative.7. Invest in low-carbon transport.
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This is not a joke. Yes, today the government has halved APD on domestic flights, making it even cheaper for people to fly. Apparently this is "in line with our environmental objectives.".
From tomorrow, tax will be slashed on flights within the UK, a move that will help boost UK-wide connectivity. #AirPassengerDuty #Aviation
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Bring it on. Night trains that are fast, accessible, cheap, and with more capacity than most short-haul planes. "NightJet has promised its prices will be competitive with those of airlines. The carriages will provide wheelchair accessibility.".
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Do you think we should remove flight routes if there's a train alternative? . We are asking the UK government to ban domestic flights if there's a direct train link of 4.5 hours or less. Our petition is doing really well; add your voice here:
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Flying less is one of the best things you can do to help avert climate breakdown. Could you be one of the 100,000 to pledge to remain #flightfree in 2020? #flightfree2020
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In May this year, the French government removed the option to fly on routes where there was a direct rail link of 2.5 hours. The Spanish govt is now considering the same. We are asking the UK government to follow suit and introduce a similar ban. Pls sign!
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We fly to escape the British weather and our flights make the British weather worse.
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96%! It's a crazy stat. but it's so easily achieved! . Hop on the Eurostar from London to Amsterdam and have a crazy adventure!🚈. Changing how we think about travel is one of the major ways we can help reduce carbon emissions. Why don't you give it a go!
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Exciting news! Eurotunnel have said they plan to introduce new direct routes from London to Cologne, Frankfurt and Geneva. This should make it much easier for more people to travel flight free on a European break.
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Yes, it's bad. It's very bad. Yes, it's us. Yes we can (still, just) stop it, or at least stop it getting worse. It's easy to feel powerless but every single one of us can do something, and stopping flying is a great way to do something.
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"I’ve personally found giving up flying relatively easy. Your tastes quickly change to accommodate your decision." . Our interview with the ever-inspiring @GeorgeMonbiot .
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Yesterday we spent Bank Holiday afternoon at St Pancras, thanking people for not flying as they got off the Eurostar. Taking the train saves 96% on your emissions – from London to Paris and back is 108kg by air and just 4kg by rail 🚄 #TrainsNotPlanes
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Should we point out the irony. ?.
Family member flying out of California this evening just sent along these photos from the flight. She said passengers could smell the smoke from the wildfires in the cabin.
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"No other discrete human activity is more intensely polluting than flying. Yet rather than being hammered, the aviation industry instead benefits from tax breaks and subsidies other sectors could only dream of." .@think_or_swim in the @IrishTimes.
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No celebrities flew to London for the ceremony, no plastic was used to build the stage and the music was powered by 60 cyclists pedalling on bikes. That's pretty cool, actually. An environmental event that actually takes the environment into account.
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"People want to get away from the stress of the airport, and once they travel by train and see more scenery from the window, and saunter to the hotel easily when they arrive in the city, they want to do it again."
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Great work @AdblockBristol 👏. We banned adverts for cigarettes. Time to ban adverts for flights.
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"I believe that one day our descendants will look back at this period and ask “Why did people fly so much when they knew the impact it would have on the planet?”. Travelling without flying is not a burden, and we need to make that shift now, before it’s too late." #FlightFree2024.
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Joyous scenes in the office this morning. When is it appropriate to drink Prosecco before midday? When Heathrow expansion has been ruled illegal, that’s when! Well done Tim & Cait @The_AEF
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Private jets are 10x more carbon heavy than commercial flights. They are the very symbol of the appalling inequality of the climate crisis: the rich go on playing while everybody else pays the price.
BREAKING @XRebellionUK activists have blocked all major entrances to #Farnborough Airport. Protestors are calling on the world's super-rich elite and governments to ditch private flights. #Farnborough caters to the 1%. Private flyers cause half of aviation’s global emissions.
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What's wrong with airport expansion?. Mainly, that emissions from flights are not included in the carbon budget for the expansion. That bears repeating: the emissions from the flights themselves are NOT INCLUDED in airport expansion plans. @NoAirportExp .
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BBC: stop offering flights as prizes!. We are asking the @BBC to adopt a policy appropriate to the current climate crisis, and move away from offering flights as prizes. Please sign and share if you agree 👇.
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This is good news: more people than ever are choosing trains over planes. Data from Omio Group:
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Rail emissions in the UK are 6x lower than air emissions and on some routes are 13x lower. Help us ask the UK govt to remove flight routes where there's a rail alternative, to rapidly bring emissions down in line with our legally-binding net zero targets.
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Great news! Adverts by Air France, Lufthansa and Etihad have been banned after "misleading consumers about the airlines' environmental impact.". Airlines tell people that green flying is possible, but in reality it's the least sustainable way to travel.
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Absolutely appalling from @thetimes: Stating the facts of climate change. Acknowledging that last-chance tourism is “in bad taste” and “a driver of climate change.” Then suggesting people fly to see the places that are being decimated by our emissions.
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Congratulations @carla_denyer, and thank you for being a climate leader by taking the #FlightFree pledge: "Not because personal action is enough on its own, but because it helps lead to wider systemic change, and that's what we really need."
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Roger Hallam, one of the brains behind @ExtinctionR, is joining the flight-free pledge. "If you want to be a vaguely moral person in this society, then flying is a no-no". Look out for our podcast recording with him – coming soon!
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If you think that most flights are taken by business people, you might be surprised to see that the leisure market is much bigger, and is growing. Business flights have been flatlining for years – even before Covid. Choosing not to fly on holiday can have a huge impact!
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"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief someone else will save it." A powerful message and powerful scenes across central London today, where @ExtinctionR says, Tell the truth, and act as if the truth is real #ExtinctionRebellion
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EU Commission bows to pressure from airlines to exclude long-haul flights from emissions monitoring scheme. This means that 67% of aviation's contrail climate impact will be ignored, according to research from @transenv .
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Since when did long-haul weekends become a thing? A trip like this can produce a whopping 3000kgs of planet-busting CO2 in a SINGLE WEEKEND. And that's just the flight. In a time of climate emergency, it's massively irresponsible of @ST_Travel to be promoting this.
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Flying is contributing to climate change, which in turn makes turbulence worse. It's a turbulent cycle. We should reconsider our travel habits for safer, greener skies.
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This is a government that has its priorities all wrong.
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Easy way to avoid two days of airport misery: don't fly. Dublin to Galicia w/out flying = ferry to Holyhead, train to London (day 1), Eurostar to Paris, TGV to Barcelona (day 2), train to A Coruña (day 3). Delightful experience, approx cost €250.
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France moving in the right direction, removing domestic flights with a direct rail connection* & increasing taxes on flights to fund rail. One of the reasons planes are so much cheaper than trains is because there is no tax on the tickets or the fuel.
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Not surprisingly, more bus journeys have been taken since the £2 fare cap was introduced. That's what happens when you make public transport cheaper!.
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This is big news: a court has ruled that an oil drilling project should take into account the environmental impact of burning the oil, not just drilling for the oil. Makes sense. Because what are they drilling the oil for, if not to burn it?
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Thank you to everyone who signed and shared our petition. We have now reached 10k signatures! This means the government will respond. We are asking the UK to follow France's lead and remove air routes where there's a direct rail link of 4.5 hours or less:
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So Rishi Sunak wants us all to be better at maths. Here's a complicated maths equation:. We have to halve emissions by 2030, i.e. in seven years. Government policies for getting there: making flights cheaper and expanding airports. Not sure that adds up, hey Rishi?.
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Can skiing ever be sustainable? An especially relevant question because of the lack of snow at many resorts recently. Our director Anna is on her way to the Alps to find out ⛷
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Great news! Just the other day the Netherlands capped flights at Schiphol aiport and now they're banning fossil fuel private jets at Eindhoven airport. When will the UK follow suit?.
🚨 BREAKING: Another big win in the Netherlands! . Eindhoven Airport plans to ban fossil-powered private jets from 2026🔥 . #BanPrivateJets.
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These two stories were reported side by side today. It beggars belief that while Australia burns, we are contemplating cutting a tax on an airline.
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This is what we need! Low cost rail to rival Easyjet. Edinburgh-London is the UK's busiest air route – now you can travel by train for £15. Bravo Lumo: “Travelling in the UK should not cost a fortune and it certainly shouldn’t be the planet that pays."
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"Will flying be green in the next seven years? The answer is no. The most logical way of reducing aviation’s contribution to global warming … is for people to fly less." . Excellent letter by Nick Hodgkinson from @galba_action in the Guardian.
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Every airport expansion that is proposed is a huge step backwards for the planet. To meet global warming targets we cannot keep flying as much as we currently do, let alone more. We must improve rail and coach transport instead. #NoAirportExpansion.
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Banning flights on the two busiest domestic routes in the UK would save 1.75 million tonnes CO2 per year. Sign our petition for the UK government to remove air routes where there's a direct rail link of 4.5 hours:
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Airlines are still flying people towards the flames. This is a deliberate, heavily promoted act of self-destruction. Advertising tells us, relentlessly & enthusiastically, to carry on as we are, living polluting lifestyles and buying high-carbon products.
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When the channel tunnel opened in 1994, night trains were built that would run from Plymouth, Swansea and Glasgow to Brussels and Paris. The 'Nightstar' service was never launched, mainly because of competition from budget airlines, and the trains were eventually sold off.
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Promising news for those campaigning against night flights here in the UK: Amsterdam's Schiphol airport will soon be closed to night flights and private jets. "We cannot ask local residents to make sacrifices just for holiday flights." 👏.
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It’s been a long time coming: Flight Free UK is now a charity! 🎉. Thank you to everyone who has supported our campaign since we launched three years ago. We’re looking forward to bigger and better things, and will work hard to fulfil our charitable aims. Cheers! 🥂
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The Caledonian Sleeper is being nationalised. If this goes well it could be a good argument for re-nationalising the railways. BUT it needs to be affordable. Astronomical ticket prices do not help people choose rail over air.
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As we get closer and closer to the 1.5C limit of global warming, "every ton of carbon dioxide saved is all the more important.". It might seem like choosing a train over a plane won't make much impact, but individual change adds up together.
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Flying planes empty is a waste of fuel and at a time of climate crisis is a needless source of emissions. We should be doing all we can to reduce emissions, not fly planes around empty just to keep landing slots. Sign our petition to end ghost flights 👇.
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“Our goal is to encourage more people to take the train so it’s a win for customers and a win for the planet.”. Great to hear @Eurostar is back to pre-Covid passenger numbers! Does that mean we could soon see lower prices. ? That would certainly help.
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Great news from South-west France: Toulouse Airport stops night flights after locals said no to noise. Time for the UK to do the same for quieter nights and a cleaner planet? 🌍💤.
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You can't fly away from the climate crisis.
Palma airport, Mallorca this afternoon. 🌊. Soggy luggage springs to mind!.
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This is interesting: a French poll shows that 41% of people would be in favour of limiting flights to four per lifetime. Four per lifetime!! . If you could take only four (rtn) flights in your lifetime, where would they be to?
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We are asking the UK government to stop so-called 'ghost' flights: planes flying empty or at very low capacity in order to preserve landing slots. It's a needless and wasteful practice at a time of climate emergency. Help us bring it to an end:
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