UK 2024 aviation emissions

Looking at Europe overall Ryanair was the most polluting airline. For flights departing the UK, British Airways came in first, emitting 7.8 Mt of CO₂ last year. Other top polluting UK airlines included easyJet and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Jet2 was the fastest growing airline, increasing their traffic by 14% in 2024 compared to 2023.

Six out of ten of Europe’s most polluting routes departed from the UK capital in 2024, with London-New York topping the list. The majority of these emissions were not priced under the UK carbon market (UK ETS), which only applies to domestic flights and those to the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. This is a major flaw in the design of the legislation and allowed airlines to dodge paying for 83% of their emissions last year.

European airlines are subject to carbon markets that are riddled with exemptions. Right now, airlines only have to pay for emissions for flights within the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, meaning that long-haul flights – which are the most polluting – are exempt from carbon pricing. Airlines also receive free allowances for their European flights, further reducing the price of CO₂.

Extending the UK’s carbon market to cover extra-European flights would help fix this imbalance and unlock vital revenues. T&E estimates that an extension of the UK ETS to flights outside of Europe could have generated an additional £1 billion in 2024 if extra-European emissions were priced. Part of these revenues could help the UK to kickstart its domestic sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) industry.