Protestors blockade Farnborough Airport to protest plans to double private jet flights
February 06, 2025 by Extinction Rebellion
Local residents and climate activists blocked Farnborough Airport this week to protest against the proposed expansion of the airport which will almost double the number of private jet flights to 70,000 a year, in a move which blatantly ignores the climate crisis.
Scores of activists are blockading the main entrance to the airport with banners proclaiming “FLYING TO EXTINCTION” “PRIVATE FLIGHTS = PUBLIC DEATHS” “STOP PRIVATE FLIGHTS” “PRIVATE FLIGHTS COST THE EARTH” “QUAKERS FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE” and “CLIMATE EMERGENCY”.
Protestors are releasing colourful smoke flares, chanting slogans and engaging with members of the public, whilst accompanied by the XR Rebel Rhythms band of drummers.
The demonstration includes campaigners from Extinction Rebellion (XR) Waverley and Borders, who have joined forces with Farnborough Noise campaign group, Blackwater Valley Friends of the Earth, Alton Climate Action Network, local councillors and local residents, to voice their opposition to the plans.
The protest follows a consultation period on Farnborough Airport’s expansion plans which ended on 18 October 2024. The plans have drawn fierce opposition from local residents and environmental campaigners. Rushmoor Borough Council has yet to make a decision on the proposed increase in flights.
The proposals include doubling the airport’s annual weekend flight limit from 8,900 to 18,900 flights and upping its annual flight limit by 71% from 50,000 to 70,000 flights.
The 33,120 private flights to and from Farnborough Airport last year carried an average of just 2.5 passengers per flight, with each passenger responsible for the emission of nine times as much carbon as an economy flight to the US and 20 times that to Spain. Currently 40% of flights to and from the airport are empty.
For the limited benefit it provides to a small number of people, private aviation has a disproportionately large impact on climate change due to its high carbon emissions. Per passenger mile, flying in a private jet is the most inefficient and most carbon-intensive mode of transport. It epitomises the worst of climate injustice, where a few people emit large amounts of carbon for the sake of a journey that can be taken by a scheduled flight or, in many cases, by train.
Private jets are 10 times more carbon intensive than a normal airliner and 50 times worse than trains, with a four-hour private flight emitting as much as the average person does in a year, according to research by environmental campaign group Transport & Environment.
At a time when we must drastically reduce our carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, Macquarie is blatantly ignoring the science and is complicit in the unfolding climate crisis.
Steve Williams, Environment Portfolio Holder for Waverley Borough Council, said: “Aviation has no realistic prospect of becoming sustainable in the near future, so any form of airport expansion is unacceptable, given the climate crisis. Expansion at Farnborough is particularly iniquitous because of the impact on the locality nearby and the massive carbon footprint of the privileged few who choose to travel by private jet.”
Chris Neil, from Shackelford, said: “It’s unacceptable that a tiny number of very wealthy people award themselves the right to fly in private jets, emitting huge amounts of carbon and destroying the peace and well-being of people who live under flight paths. The lie put out in support of expansion plans is that more flying is good for business and economic growth. The reality is that Farnborough airport’s busiest day of the week is Sunday – very rich individuals are putting their desire for luxurious recreation and prestige above the real needs of ordinary people.”
Teresa van den Bosch, a retired GP, added: “I am going to Farnborough airport to join a protest against the plans for expansion which are going to be considered by Rushmoor Council later this year.
“More flights use more fuel and produce more emissions, and private jets do so at a rate 30-40 times that of a commercial flight per passenger mile. Burning fossil fuel is contributing massively to the steady global rise in temperatures and climate breakdown. The proposal to expand Farnborough is also deeply concerning to me in its inequality as the super-rich 1% burned through their “share” of the annual carbon budget within the first 10 days of this year. It’s just not fair or sustainable.”
Protestor Pete Goodman, commented: “I was on a campervan holiday in Valencia on the night of the storm. My ‘holiday snaps’ didn’t need to go into a camera as they are etched into my memory forever. Excessive warming of the Med was the cause and it is due to high carbon emissions, of which the worst are executive jets.”
We need to stop ALL AIRPORT EXPANSION and start listening to the experts, the climate scientists, before it is too late. The fossil fuel, holiday and airport companies want us to ignore worsening climate change and to continue to make things worse! If you care about life on earth, and especially if you have children, I would implore you to join us to campaign against private flights at Farnborough Airport. More generally, join Extinction Rebellion or any other climate change campaign groups that you can, and take action. Once climate change happens, it cannot be undone, and we will indeed realise what we have lost.