Holiday flights and pollution: идеи для эссе IELTS

Air travel for holidays is growing rapidly and contributes significantly to pollution. This essay will explain the problems this causes and suggest some solutions.

The growth in flying has several causes. Tickets have become cheap, thanks to budget airlines, and the middle class is expanding in many countries, so more people can afford to fly. Business travel also contributes, since companies send staff to meetings abroad, although video calls have reduced this need somewhat.

The consequences are serious. Aircraft burn fossil fuels and release carbon dioxide high in the atmosphere, where it has an especially strong warming effect, so aviation is an important contributor to climate change. Airports also cause local problems, including noise, poor air quality and the destruction of land for new runways. For island nations and low-lying coastal regions, the resulting sea-level rise is a threat to their existence.

A number of solutions are possible. Governments could tax flights, particularly frequent or short-haul ones, and use the money to fund greener alternatives. A fuel tax or a carbon charge on tickets would make the true environmental cost visible to passengers. Investment in high-speed railways and better international train connections would give people a comfortable alternative for journeys within a continent; France has already banned some domestic flights where a train journey takes under two and a half hours. The industry should also be supported to develop cleaner fuels and more efficient engines, although these technologies are still some way from being widely used. Finally, people can be encouraged to take holidays closer to home, for example by promoting domestic tourism and offering longer, less frequent trips instead of several short ones abroad.

In conclusion, cheap tickets and rising demand have made flying a major source of pollution, but taxation, better trains, cleaner technology and nearer holidays could reduce its impact.