London Mayor Sadiq Khan is facing growing criticism after analysis revealed he has clocked over 73,000 miles of international flights, enough to fly to the moon and back while attending climate conferences and global events over the past eight years.
Despite championing environmental policies such as the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) and campaigning against airport expansion, the mayor has flown with his entourage across four continents, generating an estimated 43.6 tonnes of CO₂ emissions from 13 international trips.
When team members are included, the air miles soar to 473,000 miles, equivalent to flying around the Earth 19 times or just shy of a return trip to the moon. His office is reported to have booked at least 70 flight seats, enough to fill an entire short-haul aircraft (ATR 72).
Among the most high-profile trips was a September 2023 visit to New York for a climate conference, where Khan was joined by eight staff members. That same year, he attended events in Rome and Paris, with data from 2023–24 showing he travelled with 23 staff members across four international trips, two of which were climate-related.
Earlier travel included a 2017 visit to India and Pakistan with seven staff, costing nearly £21,000 and generating more than 66,000 air miles. In 2016, Khan’s delegation flew to Canada and the US, racking up an additional 56,000 miles and costing over £32,000.
According to UN aviation body ICAO’s emissions calculator, Khan would need to plant between 1,350 and 2,000 trees to offset the carbon from his flights equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of half the trees in Hyde Park.
These revelations are drawing fierce backlash, particularly given the mayor’s repeated warnings about the dangers of air pollution. In 2023, he voiced opposition to Heathrow’s proposed third runway, saying,“I’m simply not convinced that you can have hundreds of thousands of additional flights at Heathrow every year without a hugely damaging impact on our environment.”
In previous public remarks, Khan urged frequent fliers to reconsider air travel, stressing, “Frequent air travellers should consider firstly whether a particular journey is needed at all and, if so, to take the lowest carbon options wherever possible.”
Despite this, he has repeatedly defended his international travel as essential to promoting London’s interests. A spokesperson for the Mayor said,“The Mayor has made 16 international visits by plane, compared to 34 by Boris Johnson when he was mayor. Sadiq makes no apology for banging the drum for the capital overseas to promote growth and to generate new trade, investment and cultural links.”
However, critics say the optics are damaging. Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins slammed the mayor’s conduct as Left-wing hypocrisy, accusing him of burdening Londoners with traffic congestion and higher driving costs while racking up emissions from overseas trips.
“Climate Khan’ is happy to close roads and preach net zero from the comfort of his many plane journeys, while Londoners struggle through gridlock caused by his own policies.”
The Ulez expansion, promoted by Khan as a health-saving initiative, has remained one of his most controversial policies. Defending the measure in 2023, he told BBC Breakfast,“Why shouldn’t outer Londoners breathe clean air? Why should they continue dying prematurely in numbers that can be reversed?”
Still, as his international travel footprint becomes more visible, opponents argue that the mayor’s personal carbon emissions risk undermining his public environmental message.
The debate is unlikely to fade soon especially as climate-conscious voters weigh the gap between policy and personal practice.
