Hypocrite airways? Jeff Bezos's £48m Gulf Stream leads parade of 400 private jets into COP26 including Prince Albert of Monaco, scores of royals and dozens of 'green' CEOs- as huge traffic jam forces empty planes to fly 30 miles to park
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' £48million Gulf Stream has led a 400-strong parade of private jets into COP25 including Prince Albert of Monaco, scores of royals and dozens of 'green' CEOs - as an extraordinary traffic jam forced empty planes to fly 30 miles to find space to park.
Some environmental activists at the COP26 climate conference will be urging others to cut down on air travel and eat less meat, but apparently it is fine for billionaires to fly in on their own planes on routes already served by commercial airlines.
Meanwhile, as the super rich were whisked away into waiting limos, hundreds of less fortunate delegates were left unable to get to Glasgow after brutal storms crippled rail links, forcing travellers to sleep on the floor of Euston station in London.
On Sunday, MailOnline observed at least 52 private jets landing at Glasgow - while estimates put the total number flying in for the conference at 400. Conservative predictions suggest the fleet of private jets arriving for COP26 will blast out 13,000tonnes of carbon dioxide in total - equivalent to the amount consumed by more than 1,600 Britons in a year.
Prince Charles was among those travelling by non-commercial plane from the G20 in Rome, MailOnline can reveal. Flight records suggest the plane was an MOD jet.
A Clarence House spokesman said: 'His Royal Highness has personally campaigned for a shift towards Sustainable Aviation Fuel and would only undertake travel to Rome when it was agreed that sustainable fuel would be used in the plane.' The spokesman said that sustainable fuel would also be used 'wherever possible... from now on'.
As Boris Johnson used his opening address to compare world leaders to James Bond trying to diffuse a 'doomsday device' some found their own way of rising to the challenge, with Prince Albert of Monaco appearing to be among those choosing to fly private - according to an analysis of flight records by MailOnline.
Bank of America, which in PR documents boasts of its 'commitment to sustainability', was the registered owner of two private jets arriving in Scotland. They are far more polluting than commercial planes, cars or trains, with the typical one belching out two tonnes of carbon dioxide every hour.
Mr Bezos - who regularly lectures the world on climate change - arrived in Glasgow fresh from celebrating Microsoft founder Bill Gates' 66th birthday on a £2million-a-week superyacht off the coast of Turkey in an event that generated fresh claims of green hypocrisy. He reached the boat by helicopter, according to reports.
Joe Biden touched down in Edinburgh today while Germany's Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron of France arrived at Glasgow. President Biden alone will generate an estimated 2.2million pounds of carbon to reach the summit, thanks to a fleet of four planes, the Marine One helicopter and an enormous motorcade including The Beast and numerous SUVs.
Today, Boris Johnson warned it is a 'minute to midnight' to stop a climate disaster. Among developments -
- Boris Johnson compared situation of leaders to James Bond towards the end of a film trying to diffuse a 'doomsday device' before it 'ends human life as we know it';
- Earlier told world leaders their promises on tackling climate change are starting to 'sound hollow' - as it emerged Xi Jinping will not even give 'virtual' speech after snub and Turkish president is staying away;
- PM said there are 'no compelling excuses for our procrastination' on reducing harmful emissions and action already taken amounts to 'drops in a rapidly warming ocean';
- Climate poster girl Greta Thunberg backed direct action groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, saying it was necessary to 'anger some people' to get the message through;
- One of the biggest security operations ever mounted in Britain got underway amid warnings that climate protesters plan serious disruption;
- A report by the UN's weather agency warned that sea levels were now rising twice as fast as in the 1990s;
- Ministers are closing in on a deal to end deforestation by paying poorer countries not to fell trees;
- Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, warned that the Pacific archipelago could disappear underwater unless the Glasgow summit achieves its aims;
- Queen was spotted driving around the Windsor estate as she's seen for the first time since hospital stay after pulling out of COP26 on medical advice.
Amazon airways: Jeff Bezos' Gulfstream private jet - which reportedly cost him £48million - arrives at Prestwick Airport near Glasgow
Mr Bezos met Prince Charles this week to discuss climate change. He tweeted: 'The Prince of Wales has been involved in fighting climate change and protecting our beautiful world far longer than most. We had a chance to discuss these important issues on the eve of #COP26 — looking for solutions to heal our world, and how the @BezosEarthFund can help'
Joe Biden lands at Edinburgh Airport on Air Force One this morning. He will generate an estimated 2.2 million pounds of carbon during his trip to Europe
Air Force One landed in Edinburgh, while other international delegations arrived at Glasgow and Prestwick instead
Joe Biden's presidential motorcade is pictured driving near Livingston as it makes its way from Edinburgh to Glasgow today
Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron leaving their government jets at Glasgow Airport this morning
Boris Johnson has told world leaders at the start of the COP26 summit that they can no longer afford to delay taking major action to address climate change as he warned 'the longer we fail to act, the worse it gets’
Other private jets blasted in to Scotland from destinations including Stockholm, Rome, London and Brussels - which are all served by regular commercial routes. The majority of the planes were hired from rental firms, making it difficult to work out who was on board.
There was so much air traffic that some jets dropped off VIPs at Glasgow Airport and then flew 30 miles to nearby Prestwick due to a shortage of parking. Some also landed in Edinburgh, before presumably travelling by land.
Boris Johnson flew in from Rome on his Union flag-embossed Airbus A321, but was stuck circling Glasgow for more than 20 minutes because of the number of jets arriving.
He was behind the President of South Korea, who also flew in from Rome, where a G20 conference took place over the weekend.
Yesterday, MailOnline watched from beside the runway as plane after plane carrying leaders, dignitaries, security personnel landed at Glasgow before being ferried away by lines of SUV's and private limousines.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was among the first to arrive in a delegation of 100 people on a Biman Airways jet from Dhaka.
A Dassault Falcon 8X belonging to the Monaco royal family arrives in Edinburgh early this morning
Lots of the jets arriving for COP26 yesterday were rented from private firms, making it hard to find out who was on board. Pictured is a Bombardier Challenger 605 operated by Malta-based Vista Jet
A Dassault Falcon 7X belonging to the government of Namibia arrives at Edinburgh Airport before the COP26 conference
Another Dassault Falcon 7X - which is registered in Nice, France - touches down at Edinburgh Airport yesterday
This plane - a Dassault Falcon 7X with the callsign RA-09007 - belongs to the 'special flight squadron' of Russian airline Rossiya
A Cessna 560XL Citation Excel XLS+ belonging to private jet operator Air Service Liege arrives at Edinburgh Airport
A Bombardier Global Express owned by Executive Jet Management arrives in Edinburgh. Many of the jets are rented, making it difficult to find who was using them
A Hawker Beechcraft 400XP owned by Smart Jet, an operator based in Warsaw, Poland, arrives at Edinburgh Airport
This plane - tail number SE-RIL - is a Cessna 560XLS Citation Excel run by a jet rental company based in Sweden. It is seen arriving in Edinburgh
A chartered Boeing 737 belonging to the Abu Dhabi Royal Family spotted landing at Glasgow Airport yesterday afternoon
President Buhari of Nigeria is greeted by supporters at he gets off his Nigerian Air Force jet at Glasgow prior to COP26
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, call sign BBC2012, had been specially commissioned to fly the Premier and her entourage to Scotland for the global gathering.
The plane burns around 5400litres of fuel an hour meaning it needed more than 64,000litres to land it at Glasgow Airport during the near-12 hour trip.
Waiting for her were scores of supporters who waved the country's flag and unfurled banners welcoming her.
She was soon followed shortly afterwards by the President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Ghazouani whose delegation of 10 people flew in from Nouakchott on a Boeing 737 Max 8, call sign MRT001.
Egypt President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi landed on another Boeing and was surrounded by security guards as he was driven away through the rain.
Other planes from countries not normally served by Glasgow arrived from Ukraine, Pakistan, Armenia, South Korea, Australia, India, Rwanda, Republic of Congo, Angola and Palestine.
Cyprus landed an Airbus A319 landed at Glasgow Airport from Larnaca and it later shifted to the city's second airport at Prestwick.
Adding to the massive fuel consumption on Monday will be Estonia, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Jordan, Ghana, Croatia who are all due to land jets at Glasgow Airport.
A German Air Force jet will also land at Glasgow Airport today.
The Japanese Air Force One, Air India One and Israeli Wing of Zion are also expected to arrive carrying their leaders for the summit.
President Joe Biden alone will generate an estimated 2.2million pounds of carbon to reach the summit.
The gigantic carbon footprint comprises 2.16 million pounds of carbon dioxide generated by the four large planes that make up his airborne entourage on the trip to Italy and Scotland, where the president will speak at the COP26 summit on change in Glasgow, with the remainder emitted by Biden's cars.
His fleet is comprised of the heavily modified Boeing 747 he travels on, known as Air Force One when the president is on board, an identical decoy, and two huge C-17 Globemaster planes to carry his battalion of cars and helicopters.
One airport source told MailOnline: 'It doesn't make sense to have all these extra planes landing in Scotland. They are only adding to the problem by flying all these planes in when it's quite easy to stay home and chat.
'We have all learned about Zoom calls and how efficient they are and can stop the need for people to travel. I don't get why all these planes have to fly these leaders and their people in.
'They could have just as well held video conferences and invited everybody, politicians and public, to join in. The sight of these planes landing is a very negative image against their messages against climate change.'
But today, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss insisted it was not possible to hold such a major conference over a video call.
She told BBC Breakfast: 'I think everyone who's ever done a Zoom call knows that they are quite useful for some things but when you really get into crunch negotiations and want to look somebody in the eye and talk to them face to face you do need to meet in person.
'World leaders are going to have to make some tough decisions and commit to things they didn't necessarily want to when they arrived at the conference and that's why it's really important to have people face to face to allow these negotiations to take place.'
Matt Finch, of the Transport and Environment campaign group, told the Sunday Record: 'The average private jet, and we are not talking Air Force One, emits two tons of CO2 for every hour in flight.
'It can't be stressed enough how bad private jets are for the environment, it is the worst way to travel by miles. Our research has found that most journeys could easily be completed on scheduled flights.'
Bank of America said: 'We purchase sustainable aviation fuel — at significant higher cost — in quantities that match the fuel needed for our corporate aviation.
'As a founder member of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance, we are working with clients in aviation, energy, and other sectors to create a true market for sustainable aviation fuel, bring the cost down, and make it widely available. In fact that is one of the important topics of discussion at COP 26.'
A Bombardier CRJ-200 from Montreal lands at Edinburgh Airport yesterday prior to the climate conference in Glasgow
This Brazilian-built Embraer ERJ-135BJ Legacy 600 belonging to the Serbian government touched down in the Scottish capital yesterday
A Beech B200 Super King Air operated by 2 Excel Aviation arriving at Edinburgh Airport yesterday afternoon
A fleet of SUVs wait at Glasgow Airport to pick up delegates and take them to the climate conference
Far away from the world of the super-rich, hundreds of people - including some COP26 - were stuck at Euston after brutal weather crippled rail links
No comments