Promises to cut emissions and use more fuel-efficient planes fail to stop rise, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% up on 2019
Emissions from flying in Europe have now passed pre-pandemic levels, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% higher than in 2019, research has shown.
Total aviation emissions continue to increase despite industry pledges to decarbonise and the introduction of more fuel-efficient planes, driven by the massive expansion of low-cost carriers.
According to analysis by thinktank Transport & Environment (T&E), Ryanair’s CO₂ emissions alone in 2025 reached 16.6 megatonnes (Mt) of CO₂ – around the same amount as the total annual emissions of a small European country such as Croatia. The airline carried just over 200 million passengers in 2025, compared with 140 million in 2019.
The entire European aviation sector emitted 195Mt of CO₂ in departing flights last year, a 2% increase on levels before Covid paused international travel.
