Banning flights on UK routes with fast rail links ‘could cut flight emissions by third’

Taking the train between UK cities instead of flying adds less than 30 minutes to journeys of most passengers, according to the Intergenerational Foundation Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Banning flights on routes with fast rail connections could cut the UK’s emissions from domestic aviation by a third, a report has found.

The report by the thinktank Intergenerational Foundation (IF) found that domestic aviation was responsible for the emission of 2.7 megatonnes of CO₂ in 2019 alone – the equivalent of the annual emissions from 1.7 million petrol cars or the energy to power 700,000 UK homes for a year.