Should private jets be banned?

[Engoltheharpy]

Given the impact flights have on the environment should the private use and ownership of private jets be banned?
It seems grossly unfair to request ordinary people reduce the amount of times they fly on a shared flight while turning a blind eye to the rich using a private jet frequently for single digit numbers of travellers.

No, of course not.

Communism is just not a successful model for society as it does not reward ambition and hard work. It inevitably ends up being corrupted.

The more money you have, the more resources you can use. Would you ban private schools, private medicine etc? All of these allow people to unfairly use scarce resources (teachers and doctors).

By all means tax them and use the money to offset the environmental impact. But banning them just seems to be out of jealousy.

Of course not!

YABU - should motorbike's be banned, after all they only carry 1 person & what about private cars, we can after all take buses & trains

I think YANBU actually. Not sure why you’re being told to fuck off, it’s a perfectly reasonable point

By that logic private cars should be banned and everyone required to use public transport or Uber. Given how vastly expensive it is to have a private plane I doubt banning them would achieve much either.

I think that it would raise the cost of air travel and be a security nightmare if you were on the same flight as a VIP like Trump. Presumably everybody on the flight would have to be under more checks and VIPs would have to buy all of First/Business for privacy and security.

Some relevant points, I'm interested to see both sides from those who are able to hold a conversation.

Interesting to think banning things like this could be akin to communism and the comparison to private schools/ medicine.
I'm looking at this purely from the impact on the environment and the impact that flight travel in particular has on climate change. Surely sometimes it's a case of needs must, right now we need to act and if it were proven that private jets had a significant impact it would make sense to curtail their use.

seems grossly unfair to request ordinary people reduce the amount of times they fly on a shared flight

Who's asking us to do that?

Harsh responses. Sometimes they're necessary but they're disproportionately polluting alright. Kind of ridiculous comparing to a motorbike, for example, as they're nowhere near being in the same league for environmental impact.

Absolutely NOT how else is Ryan Gosling goibg to initiate me into the mile high club.

Who's asking us to do that?
Pretty much every environmental group or party in the whole world is. And it's a good idea too as we're genuinely fucked if we carry on as we are. Being mainly parents here we should give a damn about that.

That would be a stupid way to address the issue. The correct way is to either put a tax on fossil fuel that reduces consumption to an acceptable level. No distinction needs to be made between the vehicles using the fuel.

I don't know who's requesting that ordinary people should fly less, but they should be ignored as that so-called strategy is a pointless waste of everyone's time and energy.

Pretty much every environmental group or party in the whole world is. And it's a good idea too as we're genuinely fucked if we carry on as we are. Being mainly parents here we should give a damn about that.

I realise that but it's not a rule is it? So not the same as banning something.

If we want to avoid run away climate change then we all have to fundimentally change our life styles, no meat, no cars, no plastic tat, no more consumerism. Since almost no one is prepared to do that, enjoy the end, I will

Are we not trying to curtail the use of private cars with congestion charges and developing public transport links along side phasing out diesel/petrol cars. I know it's a drawn out process but attempts are been made.
I'm sure there are many reasons where using a private jet is a necessity but I can't understand why when we know so much about how flight travel impacts the environment it's allowed for jaunts for those with the money to spend.

How the hell am I supposed to get to my island if you take away my jet?🤨

You can't ban the super rich from anything, they will always do what they want regardless. What could be done is insist that for every private flight a donation is made in order to make it 'carbon neutral', as Elton supposedly did for Harry and Meghan. It doesn't solve the problem of course, but would go some small way to making people think or at least plant some more trees if nothing else.

By that logic private cars should be banned

You are comparing a car ride to a plane ride? I despair. Do you know how harmful a private plane ride is??

They should be heavily taxed.

Not banned.

YANBU. Not banned but they should be very hard to take and there should be valid reasons (e.g a president and their fleet of staff)

I feel us normal Joe soaps are constantly been reminded about the environment, climate change and our part in it. Quiet rightly too to an extent. But from what I can see all of our efforts are just a drop in the ocean and will change very little compared to what the manufacturing industry could achieve if they put their minds to it or were forced to do so.

*seems grossly unfair to request ordinary people reduce the amount of times they fly on a shared flight

Who's asking us to do that?

You must not spend a lot of time on MN, apparently no one should ever fly anywhere. I can't believe the responses you are getting OP, considering the other threads pleading with people to stop going on their annual summer holiday abroad, because, you know, they are the sole reason for climate change.
Perhaps they should consider banning first and business class too. They could fit in many more seats if all flights only had economy.

I wonder how you go about banning private jets bearing in mind most presidents, including those from impoverished countries have them, not to mention all the billionaires, film stars etc. Many are registered in tax havens.

However, they are the minority, most aviation, hundreds of millions of miles per year are in ordinary planes. Not to mention military planes.

Big issue with few answers.

Absolutely NOT how else is Ryan Gosling goibg to initiate me into the mile high club.

This was my concern also but with Dwayne Johnson.