To put it lightly, this isn't going to fare well for the planet. Pre-COVID, global aviation was emitting roughly 1.1 billion tons of CO2 per year - 2.6% of the CO2 released annually.
Rather than combatting the climate crisis, these airlines are now pumping out emissions for no justifiable reason, and reversing the hard work done by environmentalists.
To put this into context, we've outlined how many emissions will be released from Qantas Airways's Aussie trip.
Using a carbon footprint calculator , we found that on average, flying from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef on an economy flight would emit roughly 0.55 tonnes of CO2. A young tree only absorbs 5.9kg CO2 per year, so there would need to be at least 93 trees planted to offset this flight within a year.
Singapore Airlines gave no comment when asked if they would be offsetting their emissions in any potential 'flights to nowhere' plans.
The peak of coronavirus lockdown in the UK gave us an insight into life without pollution: the skies were clearer, animals were flourishing in urban areas, and roads were much quieter. For some, seeing this dramatic reversal of pollution levels is quite unsettling.
