Flight Shaming Vs Africa's Conservation Economy

African tourism destinations risk losing out in the flight shaming debate unless they can clearly demonstrate the economic, social and conservation benefits of long-haul travel.

The term flygskam Swedish for flight shame became popular around 2018 as travellers grappled with aviations carbon footprint. With aviation responsible for around 3 of global emissions, long-haul and leisure travel came under scrutiny.

Post-pandemic, attitudes shifted as people resumed travel. Last year, Swedens Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson said flight shame is now irrelevant given aviations adoption of more sustainable technologies.

While newer aircraft and sustainable aviation fuel SAF contribute to reducing emissions, industry experts warn against unrealistic expectations. During his final speech to the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa, outgoing CEO of Airlink Rodger Foster said: Climate change and how we manage it requires realistic solutions not pie-in-the-sky fashionable political promises.

He added: SAFs only environmental advantage is in the production process. Any emissions savings are quickly wiped out by shipping and logistics to get it from the point of production into the aircraft.