Liverpool felt they had little choice but to take a 33-minute back from Newcastle on Saturday night due to their congested fixture list.
The Reds picked up a 2-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday night thanks to goals from Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo. Their second successive win helped restore the feel-good factor around the club – but their trip to Tyneside has drawn criticism from the club's supporters.
Jurgen Klopp and his side chose to fly to the 145 miles between Newcastle and Liverpool rather than travel by coach or train. Flight tracking websites show that the club chartered a plane from 2Excel Aviation to whisk them from Newcastle Airport to Liverpool John Lennon Airport at 9.37pm on Saturday evening following their 5.30pm kick-off at St James' Park.
They were in the air for just 33 minutes before landing at 10.10pm. Given the match finished around 7.20 pm, there are questions as to why Liverpool felt the need to swerve what would have been a three-hour road journey, having taken the coach on the way to St James' Park earlier in the day.
The short-haul flight has sparked questions over sustainability amid the ongoing global climate crisis. Writing on Twitter, many supporters were angered by the decision, which flies in the face of Liverpool's status as one of the greenest clubs in the Premier League.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What do you make of Liverpool's decision to take a short-haul flight instead of the coach? Comment below.
"Indefensible @LFC - do better," wrote one fan. "Sort this out pls @LFC," added another. "This needs to stop, absolutely no excuses," said a third.
Liverpool were named the greenest Premier League club by Sport Positive in 2022, with the organisation praising the club’s work in the community and for signing up to the UN Sports for Climate Action pledge, which means they hope to reduce emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and be net zero by 2040. The club also recently trumpeted the fact it had become the first Premier League club to be awarded the British Standards Institute certificate for sustainability.
Mirror Football understands that Liverpool took the decision to fly back from Newcastle, rather than travel back on the coach – which uses sustainable fuels that produce 90 per cent fewer carbon emissions than diesel and was already driving back to Merseyside – due to the short turnaround before Tuesday's match against Real Madrid. Klopp's side host the defending champions at Anfield in an 8pm kick-off – some 72 hours after the Newcastle game, which was chosen for broadcast by Sky Sports.
The club does factor in environmental concerns when making travel decisions, with distance and cost the other main considerations. On this occasion, the performance benefits for the players was deemed to be the most important factor, with Klopp wanting his players to get the best recovery before the Champions League last-16 first leg against Real.
Liverpool are aiming to be net zero across their operations by the end of the current season. They plan to achieve this by offsetting their carbon emissions using verified low-carbon projects.
This problem is one that all Premier League clubs are facing. Earlier this season Nottingham Forest came under fire for taking a 20-minute flight to Blackpool for an FA Cup tie, straight after they boasted of an agreement with energy company EON to "raise awareness of the climate crisis".
"Whether it is right or wrong, I think it is pretty normal for a team, in the Premier League particularly, and for a lot of Championship teams, to fly distances like that," Forest manager Steve Cooper said. "It's probably not just a question for Nottingham Forest. It is probably a question for the whole of the Premier League. We are no outliers here. In fact, because of where we are situated in the country, we probably fly less than most."
In November, Chelsea manager Graham Potter admitted clubs should try to find ways around flying to domestic away games. "How we fly to Premier League games is something to consider," he said after the Blues flew to Newcastle. "We fly domestically – that’s also a challenge. We should be able to find a solution, definitely. It isn’t straightforward but if we are serious about it, which we should be, then we should think about it."
