Fact check: Prince Harry’s claim ‘99 per cent’ of the time he flies commercial is a slight exaggeration

The Prince’s claim ‘99 per cent’ of his flights are commercial is more than a slight exaggeration.

Prince Harry boarding a plane at Sydney Airport to fly to Fraser Island. Picture: David Swift.

The Duke of Sussex’s remark that “99 per cent” of the time he flies commercially rather than in private jets has proved to be more than just a slight exaggeration. In fact he has spent about half his recent flying time in private or chartered jets.

An analysis of the 24 overseas flights Prince Harry is known to have taken since he and the duchess married last May has shown that on eight of those occasions, either with or without his wife, he flew in private jets. On another five occasions they flew chartered.

That does not count the return flight made by the duchess by private jet to attend her baby shower in New York, which would make 15 private flights out of 26 — about 60 per cent. However, they have also gone on other flights, scheduled or otherwise, that have not become publicly known.

The couple have been strongly criticised over their flying habits because the use of private jets, which have vastly higher carbon emissions per person than scheduled flights, is seen to be at odds with Harry’s public remarks about the need to curb climate change.

Prince Harry and Meghan disembark in Suva.

The couple travelled on a RAAF plane to Dubbo last year.

The carbon emissions of chartered flights vary hugely, according to the size of aircraft and number of passengers.

The duke’s use of chartered flights is also less about luxury and convenience than security, as in the case of the return flight on the couple’s official trip to Ireland in July last year, or logistics, as in chartered flights during their tour of Australia and New Zealand last year. They took a chartered jet, with the media as fellow passengers, to fly between Australia and Fiji and Tonga.

This week, as the prince launched Travelyst, an initiative to encourage sustainable tourism, he said: “I spend 99 per cent of my life travelling the world by commercial. Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity . . . to ensure that my family are safe.”

A royal aide said that “99 per cent” was a figure of speech, and some “undocumented” private travel would have been taken commercially.

Tim Johnson, director of the Aviation Environment Federation, said last month that although the couple could pay to offset their emissions it was not enough to undo the harm.

THE TIMES