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Flight emission factors by distance and seat class (UK Government 2026)

Greenhouse gas emissions per passenger per kilometre flown, from the UK Government's 2026 conversion factors: for domestic, short-haul and long-haul flights to or from the UK and for international flights elsewhere, by seat class, with and without the extra warming from aircraft emissions at altitude (radiative forcing). Premium seats take more cabin space, so each passenger in them is assigned more of the flight's emissions. Factors are averages for UK reporting, not measurements of a particular flight.

Latest value

0.117kg CO₂e/pkm

UK Government factors for reporting by UK organisations (flights to or from the UK, and international flights between non-UK airports), 2026. Version 2026, flat file version 1.2.

Flight emission factors by distance and seat class (UK Government 2026) (kilograms of CO2-equivalent per passenger-kilometre)

28 values from 2026 to 2026. Lines: Domestic, to or from the UK, With radiative forcing, Average passenger, Domestic, to or from the UK, Without radiative forcing, Average passenger, Short-haul, to or from the UK, With radiative forcing, Average passenger, Short-haul, to or from the UK, Without radiative forcing, Average passenger, Short-haul, to or from the UK, With radiative forcing, Economy class.
Show as a table
Flight emission factors by distance and seat class (UK Government 2026), every value
PeriodFlight typeSeat classRadiative forcingValue (kg CO₂e/pkm)Status
2026Domestic, to or from the UKAverage passengerWith radiative forcing0.229final
2026Domestic, to or from the UKAverage passengerWithout radiative forcing0.136final
2026Short-haul, to or from the UKAverage passengerWith radiative forcing0.128final
2026Short-haul, to or from the UKAverage passengerWithout radiative forcing0.076final
2026Short-haul, to or from the UKEconomy classWith radiative forcing0.126final
2026Short-haul, to or from the UKEconomy classWithout radiative forcing0.074final
2026Short-haul, to or from the UKBusiness classWith radiative forcing0.189final
2026Short-haul, to or from the UKBusiness classWithout radiative forcing0.112final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKAverage passengerWith radiative forcing0.153final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKAverage passengerWithout radiative forcing0.090final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKEconomy classWith radiative forcing0.117final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKEconomy classWithout radiative forcing0.069final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKPremium economy classWith radiative forcing0.187final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKPremium economy classWithout radiative forcing0.111final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKBusiness classWith radiative forcing0.339final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKBusiness classWithout radiative forcing0.201final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKFirst classWith radiative forcing0.468final
2026Long-haul, to or from the UKFirst classWithout radiative forcing0.277final
2026International, between non-UK airportsAverage passengerWith radiative forcing0.143final
2026International, between non-UK airportsAverage passengerWithout radiative forcing0.084final
2026International, between non-UK airportsEconomy classWith radiative forcing0.109final
2026International, between non-UK airportsEconomy classWithout radiative forcing0.064final
2026International, between non-UK airportsPremium economy classWith radiative forcing0.175final
2026International, between non-UK airportsPremium economy classWithout radiative forcing0.103final
2026International, between non-UK airportsBusiness classWith radiative forcing0.317final
2026International, between non-UK airportsBusiness classWithout radiative forcing0.187final
2026International, between non-UK airportsFirst classWith radiative forcing0.437final
2026International, between non-UK airportsFirst classWithout radiative forcing0.258final
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2026 (flat file version 2026, flat file version 1.2). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0 (Crown copyright).

Notes on individual values

  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3160_11_1: Domestic, to/from UK, Average passenger, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3161_11_1: Domestic, to/from UK, Average passenger, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3162_11_1: Short-haul, to/from UK, Average passenger, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3163_11_1: Short-haul, to/from UK, Average passenger, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3164_11_1: Short-haul, to/from UK, Economy class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3165_11_1: Short-haul, to/from UK, Economy class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3166_11_1: Short-haul, to/from UK, Business class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3167_11_1: Short-haul, to/from UK, Business class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3168_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, Average passenger, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3169_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, Average passenger, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3170_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, Economy class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3171_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, Economy class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3172_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, Premium economy class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3173_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, Premium economy class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3174_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, Business class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3175_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, Business class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3176_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, First class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3177_11_1: Long-haul, to/from UK, First class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3178_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, Average passenger, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3179_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, Average passenger, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3180_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, Economy class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3181_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, Economy class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3182_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, Premium economy class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3183_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, Premium economy class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3184_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, Business class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3185_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, Business class, Without RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3186_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, First class, With RF.
  • DESNZ factor ID 21_316_3187_11_1: International, to/from non-UK, First class, Without RF.

Where it comes from

Producer
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (UK Government) · Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2026
Version
2026, flat file version 1.2
File
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a6c9748862aaf18d9c62ac9/ghg-conversion-factors-2026-flat-format-revised.xlsx
Fetched
2026-10-05 (automatically), 515,426 bytes
Fingerprint
sha256 a9a455ab396dae226d510c7be6233748416d490c41a5d20f3dc7a0c45feecd5eETag "6a6c9748-7dd62" · Last-Modified Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:38:32 GMT
Copies
No Wayback copy recorded yet.Our copy of the exact file
Cite the producer
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (2026). Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2026, flat file version 2026, flat file version 1.2. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conversion-factors-2026

What was done to it

  1. Read sheet 'Factors by Category' of the flat file (sha256 a9a455ab396d…) and kept the rows with Level 1 'Business travel- air', Level 2 'Flights', unit 'passenger.km' and GHG/Unit 'kg CO2e' (the all-gas total): 28 factors, one for each haul, seat class and with or without radiative forcing that DESNZ publishes. Checked that each appears exactly once.

    Code: pipeline/src/envdash/transforms/action/desnz_flights.py · code sha256 79a892da557e792a… · inputs a9a455ab396d…

  2. Published each factor as printed, with its DESNZ factor ID in the value's note. Well-to-tank rows and the separate CO2, CH4 and N2O rows are not used.

    Code: pipeline/src/envdash/transforms/action/desnz_flights.py · code sha256 79a892da557e792a… · inputs a9a455ab396d…

What it covers

Geography
UK Government factors for reporting by UK organisations (flights to or from the UK, and international flights between non-UK airports)
Basis
Direct emissions of the flight (CO2, CH4 and N2O as CO2-equivalent, with the warming potentials DESNZ lists in its methodology paper, Table 1), excluding the well-to-tank emissions of producing jet fuel. The factors include DESNZ's 8% uplift on the great-circle distance (methodology paper, paragraph 8.17). 'With radiative forcing' applies DESNZ's 1.7 multiplier to the CO2 for the effects of emissions at altitude (paragraph 2.10); 'without' gives the emissions alone.
Unit
kilograms of CO2-equivalent per passenger-kilometre (kg CO₂e/pkm)