When cyclist Anna Hughes stopped flying 10 years ago, it seemed like a radical idea. But now the founder of Flight Free UK has convinced thousands of people to join her in her bid to mitigate the climate impact of air travel.
Her campaign is just one part of a no-fly movement that is spreading rapidly across Europe and has given birth to a new phrase: flygskam, or Swedish for flight-shame, which means feeling guilty about jetting off on vacation. “It has become a social norm that you think holiday, you think flight,” says Ms Hughes, who no longer goes anywhere that cannot be reached by bike, train or boat. “Most people are unaware of how flying affects the environment.”
That awareness is growing fast though, as climate concerns have sparked a public backlash against flying that would have been almost unthinkable even a year ago. One of its most prominent advocates is Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist, who sailed to New York to attend the climate summit in September because she has forsworn air travel.