D
o you want to know
what progress feels
like? Sometimes, it’s
a flutter of elation,
as we realise that we’re getting to
do, see, hear or think something
we barely dared to hope for.
This might be finally getting
our heels to touch the ground
in downward dog, or watching
historically polarised world leaders
shaking hands on TV. But, just as
often, progress feels less pleasant.
Sometimes, it’s a pang of shame,
as we realise we’re slightly horrified
by something we were cheerfully
doing six months or a few years
ago. This might be a discriminatory
joke we used to make, or it might
be the developed world’s collective
disregardforclimatechange.
Insomecases,shameis a sign
ofsocialprogress,indicatingwe’re
betterpeoplethanweusedtobe.
Uncomfortableasit is,weshould
learntorevelinthisparticular
flavourofshame,ratherthan
suppressingthesensation.We
shouldbetellingfriendsandfamilyabout the dull ethical ache in our
bellies, and asking if they feel that
sting of social advancement, too.
Right now, the shame I’m
stewing in (along with many other
avid travellers around the globe)
concerns air travel. It seems mere
months ago that Instagram was
brimming with snaps of passports
and boarding passes artfully
arranged next to matcha lattes
and Smythson document wallets,
as influencers and celebrities
jostled to prove how “jet set”
they were. Today, the Flygskam,
or “flight-shaming”, movement
popularised by climate activist
Greta Thunberg and Olympic
medallist Björn Ferry, has made
excessive air travel seem about as
sociallyacceptableandgroovyas
smokingindoorswhileblaringR
Kellytunes,slurpingcolathrough
a plasticthrowawaystrawand
loudlypraisingHarveyWeinstein’s
eyefornewtalent.
Coldplay,whorecently
releasedtheireighthstudioalbum,
announcedtheyweretakinga breakThe art of...
feel-good f lying
The “flight-shame” movement has well and truly
taken off, writes ANNA HART. But is encouraging
travellers to swear off air travel really the answer?
from touring untilt
a more “sustainable”
“We’re taking timeo
year or two to work
not only our tourbe
but how can it beactively
beneficial,” saidrelentlessly
right-on singer ChrisMartin.
I know that, to some minds,
all this collective hand-wringing
about carbon emissions will seem
showy and insincere, but I’m all
for it. Whoever said “fake it ’till
you make it” might not have been
thinking about human decency,
but if you pretend to be a good
person hard enough, one morning
you will wake up a good person.
When it comes to air travel,
progress has well and truly been
made,andeverytravelobsessive
I knowis wonderinghowwecan
continuetoseeandexperience
theworldwithoutdestroyingit.
ButI’mnotaddingmyvoiceto
thosecallingupontravellerstotake
a “flight-freepledge”andground
ourselvesentirely.Swearingoffair
travelforlifeis a noblestance,butheycouldfind
”waytodoso.
overthenext
outhowcan,
esustainable,
lAnna is a travel
writer and
author of the
travel memoir
Departures.
@annadothart ILLUSTRATIONS GETTY IMAGES.