Since war broke out in Ukraine, Western airlines have been charting longer routes to avoid flying over Russia, with a discernible impact on emissions.
After Russia launched its invasion in February 2022, it banned Western planes from entering its airspace. Initially, “there was a drop in flights between Western countries and East Asia as airlines adjusted their routes,” said Nicolas Bellouin, a climate scientist at the University of Reading. “Over time, flights resumed but had to take significant detours, either flying south of Russia or over the Arctic.”
The war impacted around 1,100 flights every day, according to a new study coauthored by Bellouin, with affected planes burning 13 percent more fuel on average.
Emissions from global aviation were around 1 percent higher in 2023 as a result of the war. Conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Yemen also drove up aviation emissions, but to a far lesser extent, according to the study. The research was published in Communications Earth & Environment.
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