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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Damian Carrington and Pamela Duncan

Revealed: 5,000 empty ‘ghost flights’ in UK since 2019, data shows

United Kingdom CAA Pandemic Tim Johnson Heathrow Airlines UK United States
Why ghost flights operate remains unclear.
Why ghost flights operate remains unclear. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

More than 5,000 completely empty passenger flights have flown to or from UK airports since 2019, the Guardian can reveal.

A further 35,000 commercial flights have operated almost empty since 2019, with fewer than 10% of seats filled, according to analysis of data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This makes a total of about 40,000 “ghost flights”.

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