Is an air travel backlash beginning?

[AB Asks]

We all love getting away from it all, especially when that fine drizzle starts to drift across one of Britain's identikit town centres. In recent years more people than ever before have been escaping to sunnier lands, usually by taking a flight. 216 million people used our airports in 2004 and 39.5 million tonnes of emissions were sent into the atmosphere by planes. Apparently this is bad news for our planet, what with global warming looming large, and a growing number of people are claiming we need to cut down the number of flights we take. Do you think we need to stop taking so many flights? Would you be willing to holiday in good old Blighty rather than jetting off to a sunny country, all in the name of environmentalism?

[Karen2005]

I think I'm rather unusual in that, at the age of almost 30, I have never, ever taken a flight. My family always took holidays in the UK when I was a child and being married to someone with a fear of flying has meant I haven't flown as an adult.

I am environmentally aware and have now made a conscious decision never to fly when I can get to the same destination by land. In recent years I have been to the south of France and Barcelona by sleeper train, which was great fun. Not flying doesn't necessarily mean not going abroad.

Britain also has some great places to holiday - one of my favourites was in the Yorkshire Dales. You don't need to fly to the other side of the world to find solitude!

[dannydingbat]

Forget all the media led hype about how guilty we should all feel for flying. I read somewhere that one person flying to an environmental conference produced more harmful emissions than 1500 Ford Fiestas driving all the way round the world. Having just been to the States and seen how they all act with their ignorance on waste, emissions and similar issues, I am, by comparison, very very green. Yes, lots of people doing something can make a difference, but our country all acting together without the USA and China doing the same is going to make no difference at all. We could all decide to stop flying tomorrow, create tons of employment for our airport staff and airline crews and create all sorts of economic difficulties for ourselves. For what? How many military planes are up there all the time that we don't know about? Thousands. I just do what I am comfortable with and feel no guiilt. Remember, the Romans were growing grapes in Denmark to make wine 2000 years ago.