Newcastle named Premier League's worst polluter as new flight data shows problem

Daily Mirror

28-05-2025

New data shows that 116 short-haul domestic flights were taken over the 2024/25 Premier League season, with Newcastle accounting for over 8,000 of the 40,000 air miles
Newcastle United are the worst culprits in the Premier League's ongoing love affair with short-haul domestic flights. Mirror Football has written extensively on clubs chartering private jets to whisk players to and from away games, often unnecessarily when other more conventional forms of transport are available – and the problem is showing no signs of abating.
The packed schedules of elite teams has led to an increasing desire to prioritise player recovery above all other factors, including the environment. It means that domestic flights have become commonplace in the Premier League, with costs not an issue and convenience favoured over more time-consuming transport like coaches or trains.
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New data compiled by environmental campaigners Carbon Boot shows that Newcastle have racked up by far the most air miles of any Premier League side across the 2024/25 season.
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The Magpies flew an estimated 8,031 miles during their domestic campaign, significantly more than the next worst culprits, Liverpool (3,268 miles) and Manchester City (3,060 miles). Other more remote clubs, like Bournemouth (2,420 miles), Southampton (1,938 miles) and Ipswich (1,931 miles) were also among the biggest fliers.
Using publicly available flight data, researchers were able to find evidence that Newcastle flew at least one leg of all their 19 away matches over the Premier League season, with the vast majority of journeys made by air in both directions. By comparing flight times with available trains, they were able to show when such flights – which are seven times more polluting than trains – were unnecessary.
Newcastle refused to comment when contacted by Mirror Football, but are understood to feel somewhat handcuffed by their location, which is around 100 miles away from the nearest other Premier League stadium.
They were far from the only culpable team, with over 40,000 air miles flown in total. Shockingly, the data showed that there were 116 domestic flights altogether, 65 of which were under 35 minutes long in duration.
Among those guilty of unnecessary flights were Aston Villa, who flew 27 minutes from Birmingham Airport to London Biggin Hill Airport to play Crystal Palace on February 25, despite there being regular and fast rail connections between the two cities.
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Meanwhile, Man City flew to and from Newcastle on September 28, for 31 minutes and 27 minutes respectively, instead of taking the train which is only two hours and 20 minutes each way. One of the shortest flights saw Wolves take a 26-minute flight from Southampton to Birmingham Airport after playing Saints on March 15 to avoid a coach journey of three hours and 15 minutes.
"It's disappointing to see so many Premier League clubs flying to matches when they don't need to,' said Michael Solomon Williams from the Campaign for Better Transport, one of the groups behind the research.
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'Clubs need to be setting a better example when it comes to reducing their negative impact on the planet by swapping climate-busting flights for more sustainable train or coach travel.'
The Premier League committed to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework in November 2021, meaning it aims to cut its emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. And there were some examples of teams taking their environmental commitments seriously.
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Carbon Boot estimates that Crystal Palace only flew 179 miles all season, while Brentford were the second greenest club on 550 miles. London clubs undoubtedly have an advantage, given there were seven teams based in the capital this season, and the city is better connected than most others.
Peter Crisp from Fossil Free Football said: 'Fans know that a world with much more flooding and extreme heat is terrible for all levels of our game. It's time for clubs to end the flying, cut out avoidable pollution and show the real climate leadership needed to protect football's future. If fans can get up and down the country by road and rail, then so can the players.'