Davos/Vienna – Ahead of next week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Greenpeace CEE has published a new analysis of private jet traffic linked to the event. The report, Davos in the Sky, analysed private jet flights to and from Davos-area airports over the past three years before, during, and after the WEF, and found a sharp rise in private jet activity, even though overall attendance at the forum has remained broadly stable.

Herwig Schuster, European campaigner with Greenpeace Austria, said: ”It’s pure hypocrisy that the world’s most powerful and super-rich elite discuss global challenges and progress in Davos, while they literally burn the planet with the emissions of their private jets. The time for action is now. Governments must act to curb polluting luxury flights and tax the super-rich for the damage they cause.”

Key findings of the new report Davos in the Sky [1]

  • During the week of the 2025 World Economic Forum, 709 additional private jet flights were identified at airports near Davos – roughly equivalent to almost one private jet flight per four WEF participants. 
  • There is a 10% increase from 2024, when 628 flights were recorded, and a threefold rise compared with 2023, which saw 227 flights.[2] The increase was not driven by higher participation but by repeated arrivals and departures. In 2024 and 2025, many private jets flew in and out of Davos multiple times during the same week, effectively turning the area into a private jet shuttle hub for Davos participants.
  • Greenpeace CEE calculates that around 70% of the private jet routes could have been travelled by train within a day (or with a night train and connection train).[3]

Greenpeace supports the UN Tax Convention (UNFCITC) negotiations toward new global tax rules through 2027 and urges governments to implement new global tax rules on extreme wealth, including a levy on luxury aviation such as private jets and first and business class flights. 

ENDS

Notes: 

[1] The report Davos in the Sky was written by Berlin-based T3 Think Tank. The key findings were selected by Greenpeace CEE based on data in the report.

[2] In 2023, a French air traffic controllers strike during the week of WEF 2023 may have affected flights into and out of Switzerland.

[3] The Greenpeace CEE calculation is based on countries of origin to destination (Davos Dorf railway station) and draws on data from the T3 report referenced in this press release.

Contacts:

Herwig Schuster, European campaigner, Greenpeace Austria: +43 664 4319214 , [email protected]

Christine Gebeneter, European comms lead, Greenpeace Austria: +43 664 8403807, [email protected]

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]