Climate Change,Discretionary Air Travel,and the “Flyers’ Dilemma”

Abstract

The “flyers’ dilemma” describes the tension that now exists between the personal benefits of tourism and the climate concerns associated with high levels of personal aeromobility. This article presents the first international comparative analysis of attitudes toward climate change and discretionary air travel, providing insights into areas of convergence and divergence across three European societies—Norway, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Employing a critical interpretive approach and drawing upon 48 in-depth semistructured interviews, we document evidence of widespread neglect of the flyers’ dilemma. Our comparative analysis confirms that although current discretionary air travel practices are deeply embedded and resistant to change, attitudes toward the climate crisis and barriers to behavior change offer points of important contrast between different societies. Efforts to reformulate excessive discretionary air travel in response to accelerating global climate change must accommodate the unique issues and contrasting perspectives that exist in sections of these societies.