The Scandinavian countries have a reputation to uphold for being very well-organised, sustainable, and generally scoring high in overall wellbeing and happiness.
Flygskam: Significant Drop In Passenger Numbers
Quite a number of green initiatives have firmly planted their roots in Denmark, Norway, or Sweden; and a significant part of those economies already ‘run’ on renewable energy sources. What’s more, they actively educate (young) people to take their responsibility in being a sustainable citizen of the world. (All you have to do is take a quick look at the Swedish teen Greta Thunberg to find out whether it is working.)
So, it would not be unreasonable to state that in many ways, we ought to be looking at the cluster of Northern European nations to figure out where we should be going next. And the next chapter that seems to be looming on the horizon might just surprise you.
The Swedish airline industry has taken a massive hit in recent months - one that it is most likely not easy to recover from. Swedavia AB, the holding company of 10 major Swedish airports, reported a significant drop in passenger numbers, that has already been ongoing for seven consecutive months. Not coincidentally, the number of Swedish airline passengers has seen a slowing growth in recent years, with last year showing the weakest overall growth in more than a decade.
While the rest of the world is steadily increasing its use of airplanes for work, family or recreational purposes; the Swedish seem to become more hesitant about getting on those fuel-guzzling jets. Experts have contributed this to the phenomenon aptly called 'flying shame', which is quite literally what it says.
Flying shame as ulterior motive
People are ashamed to admit to peers that they are getting on a plane, out of fear of being crucified for not caring about the environment. 23% of Swedes indicate that they have not set foot in a plane in the recent year in order to reduce their impact on the environment; while 18% indicate that they chose to travel by train instead. This trend has even infiltrated the Swedish vocabulary, where words such as ‘flygskam’, or flying shame, ‘tagskryt’, or train bragging, and ‘smygflyga’, or flying in secret, have found their way in daily conversations.
It is an interesting development. After all, air travel has become slightly 'greener' in recent times, with today’s modern jets requiring 80% less fuel. Yet it is still a major contributor to climate change as a whole - and one that is largely exempt from government regulations and limits, being given a ‘status extraordinaire’ for their apparent importance to the economy.
Nonetheless, consumers are wisening up, as proven by our Swedish friends. And this quantifiable expression of flying shame is only serving as another figurative kick in the behind of the airline industry, forcing them to become more serious about reducing their emissions and finding ways of becoming ‘greener’.
Scandinavian Airlines greening up
Some have clearly understood the message. The partly Swedish, partly Danish Scandinavian Airlines for instance is sending a clear message with their drastic fleet overhaul. Older airplane models, such as the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 models, are rapidly being replaced by modern ones that use only a fraction of the fuel that their older counterparts use - such as the Airbus A320neo and A350-900. Additionally, Scandinavian Airlines is one of the frontrunners in the search for a viable biofuel, such as algae or used cooking oil.
Biofuel is pretty much the 'holy grail' of the airline industry, consisting of fully renewable and emission-free fuel sources. Not too long ago, the very first airplane to run on 100% biofuel made its ‘jump’ across the Pacific Ocean on a long haul flight. Although it wasn’t one of Scandinavian, they are definitely keeping a close eye on this trend - and finding ways of creating more biofuel, as its current limited supply is the largest bottleneck.
Furthermore, SAS is looking at other ways of helping passengers reduce their impact on the environment as well, by letting them pre-book their (sustainable and locally sourced) meals and offering incentives for those who travel light. After all, a lighter plane means that less fuel is required to get it from A to B.
The company is also investing in measures that may not be as visible to passengers, but important nonetheless: it is looking to offset the emissions of its frequent fliers by heavily investing in green energy projects. For the company’s directors, the reason why is obvious: the solution is not to stop flying, as it is an integral part of the world that we live in today. Instead, the goal should be do to it more responsibly: “Airlines, like other infrastructure, are needed in order for us to have the societies we want, with growth, transparency, openness, clarity and tolerance,” SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson says. "It’s important that people can continue to meet and that the world can continue to travel. But we can’t continue to just travel without adjusting to a sustainable way."
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