Ethical-decision making of ‘Flights to Nowhere’ passengers in the Covid-19 and climate change era

Bibliographic Data

ID21698949
AuthorsStephen Pratt (0000-0002-6550-132X, School of Business & Management, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, corresponding author), Denis Tolkach (0000-0002-8820-7764, James Cook University)
Year2023
Volume26
Issue5
Pages735-751
Publication date2023-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCurrent Issues in Tourism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1368-3500 • E-ISSN: 1747-7603
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13683500.2022.2038090
OpenAlexW4212962959
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited61

With international travel halting as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19, several airlines sought to offer Flights to Nowhere as a way to generate revenue and keep their aircrafts flight-ready. Flights to Nowhere are sightseeing flights that start and finish at the same airport without landing elsewhere. These flights have been heavily criticized for creating unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. This research explores the ethical decision-making process and the subsequent rationalization of taking Flights to Nowhere. Using cognitive dissonance theory and neutralization techniques, we analyse in-depth interviews with passengers that have recently taken a Flight to Nowhere. Passengers did not immediately make the connection between Flights to Nowhere and climate change but on reflection, they justified these flights using a range of neutralization techniques including an appeal to higher loyalties, denial of injury, and justification by comparison

Aeronautics · Air travel · Aviation · Climate change · Cognitive dissonance · Denial · Political science · Tourism · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Engineering · Law · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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