Tool
Flight Emissions Estimator
Estimate flight CO2e by distance, cabin class, return/one-way and radiative-forcing toggle.
Method
UK DEFRA 2024 factors with and without radiative forcing: short-haul economy 0.12576 kg/passenger-km with RF (0.07435 without), long-haul economy 0.11704 with RF (0.06926 without); business and first class use higher cabin multipliers.
Limitations
Distance must be entered by the user — no airport lookup is included, because a verified airport database was not available. Results are estimates, not airline-reported emissions.
Flight emissions estimator
Enter the one-way route distance in kilometres. This tool does not look up airports — use your booking or a route-distance reference for the distance.
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Enter a distance to see the result.
Result: 0.00 kg CO2e (0.00 tonnes)
- Band: Short-haul (under 3,700 km)
- Factor used: 0.12576 kg CO2e per passenger-km (with radiative forcing)
- Per passenger, one-way: 0.00 kg
- Per passenger, one-way: 0.00 kg
- Passengers: 1
DEFRA 2024 passenger factors. RF on (default) includes high-altitude non-CO2 warming; RF off is CO2-only. Excludes airport operations and aircraft manufacture.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Flight Emissions Estimator calculate?
It estimates flight CO2e from one-way distance in kilometres, cabin class, return or one-way, and whether radiative forcing is included, showing total and per-passenger figures.
What is radiative forcing, and why is it a toggle?
Radiative forcing accounts for the extra warming effect of emissions at altitude beyond CO2 alone. The tool lets you include it or not, using DEFRA 2024 factors for each case, so you can see how much difference it makes.
How do cabin classes change the result?
Business and first-class seats take more space per passenger, so they carry a higher share of the flight's emissions. The tool applies DEFRA 2024 cabin multipliers, with economy as the lowest per-passenger factor.
Why does the flight tool ask for distance instead of airports?
No verified airport-coordinate database was available for this build, so the tool does not offer airport-to-airport lookup. You enter the one-way distance in kilometres, which keeps the estimate honest about what it is based on.
Is the flight result the airline's reported figure?
No. It is an estimate from DEFRA 2024 factors for the distance and cabin class you enter, not an airline-reported or flight-specific measured figure.