According to an analysis by Greenpeace, more and more top managers and political figures are traveling in private jets to the World Economic Forum in Davos GR.
01/15/2026, 06:0101/15/2026, 06:01
Compared to 2024 and 2025, the number of private flights registered at surrounding airports increased by ten percent.
A private jet at Zurich Airport. (symbol image)Image: keystone
“The World Economic Forum wants to find answers to global problems, but the rich and powerful are fueling the climate crisis with their luxury emissions and thus the greatest threat to our future,” criticized Greenpeace spokeswoman Lena Donat.
“If climate-friendly alternatives are simply ignored, then extremely climate-damaging private flights should be banned immediately.”
For the survey, Greenpeace compared private flight movements at the seven airports around Davos in World Economic Forum (WEF) weeks with those in average weeks. In the WEF week 2025, 709 private flights that exceeded the normal number were registered. A year earlier there were 628, but in 2023 there were 227 additional flights.
According to Greenpeace, private flights cause around ten times as much greenhouse gases per passenger as a scheduled flight and around fifty times as much as a train journey.
Often short flights
According to the Greenpeace report, most private flights to the World Economic Forum departed from France (20 percent), followed by Great Britain (13 percent) and Germany (12 percent). In general, the flights are mostly within Europe, and around 70 percent can be completed within one day by train. “Many super-rich people seem to be completely indifferent to the fact that their lifestyle leaves a path of ecological destruction behind them,” criticized Donat.
The World Economic Forum begins on Monday in the Graubünden municipality of Davos. This year, around 3,000 participants from politics and business are expected, including US President Donald Trump. At Zurich Airport, for example, around 1,000 additional flights are expected during the WEF. That’s a similar number as in previous years, as the airport announced on Tuesday. (sda/dpa)