Flight Emissions Tracker

Flight emissions

{{ perPassengerDisplay }} per passenger | {{ totalDistanceDisplay }}

{{ cabin_class }} {{ passengersCount }} passenger{{ passengersCount === 1 ? '' : 's' }} {{ tripTypeLabel }} RF x{{ rfFactorLabel }} SAF {{ saf_percent }}%

Loading global airport data...

Add a distance in km after each leg to bypass lookup.

Route legs:

Trip type:

Cabin class:

Travelers: people

Actions:

Radiative forcing:

Include non-CO2 effects (RF)

x{{ rfFactorLabel }}

SAF share:

{{ saf_percent }}%

Assumes 70% emissions savings across the SAF share.

Offset price:

$ / t CO2e

Airport data:

#	From	To	Distance (km)	CO2/pax (kg)	CO2e/pax (kg)	Total CO2e (kg)	Copy
{{ leg.idx }}	{{ leg.fromLabel }}	{{ leg.toLabel }}	{{ leg.distanceLabel }}	{{ leg.co2Label }}	{{ leg.co2eLabel }}	{{ leg.totalCo2eLabel }}

Metric	Value	Copy
{{ row.label }}	{{ row.value }}

Tags: Aviation , Finance

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Flight emissions are the greenhouse gases released when an aircraft burns fuel to move people between airports and across regions. A flight carbon footprint calculator helps you compare routes, understand tradeoffs, and set more realistic travel targets.

Instead of treating the result as a mysterious number, this estimator breaks an itinerary into legs and shows how distance, cabin choice, and passenger count shape the total. It is designed for quick what if checks when you are deciding between routes or travel styles.

You provide one or more legs using three letter airport codes, and you can add a distance when you already know it. The output reports carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide equivalent totals, plus a per passenger figure for clean comparisons across options.

For example, you can compare economy versus a higher cabin class on the same route, or see how a return trip changes the total footprint. If you want to explore the effect of cleaner fuel blending or extra atmospheric impact, you can include those assumptions to view a range rather than a single point.

Treat the output as a simplified estimate, not a receipt of what an airline will report, since real flight paths, aircraft, and load factors vary. If you share results, avoid including personal travel details that are not needed for the calculation.

Technical Details:

The calculator estimates emissions leg by leg, then aggregates them into totals for the full itinerary. The core quantities are distance in kilometers, passenger count, and a per kilometer emission factor that is adjusted by travel class and optional assumptions.

It reports two related measures: carbon dioxide (CO2) for fuel burn, and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) when a radiative forcing (RF) multiplier is applied to approximate additional non CO2 effects. A sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) share can also reduce the base CO2 before CO2e is calculated.

Results are easiest to compare when you hold assumptions constant across scenarios. Values near a distance band boundary can shift slightly if you round a leg distance up or down, so use consistent inputs when comparing two routes.

Core equations

\begin{matrix} E_{{CO}_{2},pax} & = & d \times f (d) \times m_{class} \times r_{SAF} \\ E_{{CO}_{2} e,pax} & = & E_{{CO}_{2},pax} \times m_{RF} \\ E_{{CO}_{2} e,total} & = & E_{{CO}_{2} e,pax} \times n \times m_{trip} \end{matrix}

\begin{matrix} r_{SAF} & = & 1 - 0.7 \times (\frac{s_{pct}}{100}) \\ C_{offset} & = & \frac{E_{{CO}_{2} e,total}}{1000} \times p_{offset} \end{matrix}

Symbols and units used in the emissions equations
Symbol	Meaning	Unit/Datatype	Source
`d`	Leg distance	km	Input or derived
`f(d)`	Base emission factor by distance band	kg CO2 per pax km	Constant
`m_class`	Cabin class multiplier	unitless	Input mapped to constant
`r_SAF`	Reduction multiplier from SAF share	unitless	Derived from input
`m_RF`	Radiative forcing multiplier, 1 when disabled	unitless	Input with bounds
`n`	Passenger count	integer	Input normalized
`m_trip`	Trip multiplier, 2 for round trip, 1 for one way	unitless	Input mapped to constant
`s_pct`	SAF share percentage	0 to 100	Input with bounds
`p_offset`	Offset price per tonne of CO2e	USD per t	Input
`C_offset`	Estimated offset cost for total CO2e	USD	Derived

Worked example

Assume one leg with a manual distance of 10800 km, economy class, 2 passengers, round trip, RF enabled at 1.90, SAF share 30%, and an offset price of $25 per t CO2e.

f (d) = 0.115

r_{SAF} = 1 - 0.7 \times 0.30 = 0.79

E_{{CO}_{2},pax} = 10800 \times 0.115 \times 1 \times 0.79 = 981.18

E_{{CO}_{2} e,pax} = 981.18 \times 1.90 = 1864.242

E_{{CO}_{2} e,total} = 1864.242 \times 2 \times 2 = 7456.968

C_{offset} = (\frac{7456.968}{1000}) \times 25 = 186.4242

The display may round these values depending on which view you are using.

Interpretation and thresholds

Distance bands used to select a base emission factor
Distance band	Lower bound (km)	Upper bound (km)	Factor (kg CO2 per pax km)	Interpretation	Action cue
Band A	0	1500	0.158	Higher per kilometer intensity in this simplified model	Use a precise distance near the cutoff
Band B	1500	3500	0.139	Mid range factor used for medium distances	Compare scenarios with the same banding
Band C	3500	Infinity	0.115	Lower per kilometer factor applied to longer distances	Use this for intercontinental legs

A higher cabin class increases emissions by applying a multiplier to the base CO2, and the trip type multiplies the entire itinerary by 1 or 2. The RF multiplier scales CO2 into CO2e, and the SAF share reduces the base CO2 before that scaling.

Variables and parameters

Primary inputs and how they affect the results
Parameter	Meaning	Unit/Datatype	Typical range	Sensitivity	Notes
Route legs	Each leg defines a from airport and a to airport	text	1 to many lines	High	Distance can be derived or manually provided
Trip type	Counts legs once or doubles the entire itinerary	enum	oneway, roundtrip	High	Round trip uses a multiplier of 2
Cabin class	Scales per passenger emissions by seating intensity	enum	economy to first	High	Multipliers include 1.26, 1.54, 2.4
Passengers	Scales totals linearly	integer	1 and up	High	Non positive inputs are treated as 1
Include RF	Controls whether CO2e differs from CO2	boolean	on or off	Medium	When off, m_RF is 1
RF multiplier	Scales CO2 into CO2e	number	1 to 3	Medium	Values are clamped into the allowed range
SAF share	Reduces base CO2 before CO2e is computed	percent	0 to 100	Medium	Applies 70% savings to that share
Offset price	Converts total CO2e into an estimated cost	USD per t	0 and up	Medium	Cost uses kg to tonne conversion by 1000

Constants and coefficients

Fixed values embedded in the calculation
Constant	Value	Unit	Source	Notes
Earth radius	6371	km	Constant	Used for great circle distance when needed
Emission factor Band A	0.158	kg CO2 per pax km	Constant	Applied when distance is 1500 km or less
Emission factor Band B	0.139	kg CO2 per pax km	Constant	Applied when distance is more than 1500 km and up to 3500 km
Emission factor Band C	0.115	kg CO2 per pax km	Constant	Applied when distance is more than 3500 km
Cabin multipliers	1, 1.26, 1.54, 2.4	unitless	Constant	Interface labels these as DEFRA multipliers
SAF savings rate	0.7	unitless	Constant	Applies across the SAF share only
Miles to km	1.60934	km per mi	Constant	Used when a leg distance is entered in miles
RF bounds	1 to 3	unitless	Constant	RF multiplier is clamped into this range
Airport load timeout	25	s	Constant	Fetch is aborted after the timeout
Recalculate debounce	200	ms	Constant	Typing triggers recalculation after a short pause

Units, precision, and rounding

All arithmetic is performed with standard floating point numbers. Displayed values are rounded by a shared formatter with different decimal places by view, commonly 0 for distance, 1 for totals, and 2 or 3 for per passenger and export tables. The package does not expose the formatter rules for decimal separators or tie handling, so treat formatted values as rounded approximations and rely on the raw JSON for full precision.

Validation and bounds

Input validation rules and bounds enforced by the app
Field	Type	Min	Max	Step/Pattern	Error text	Placeholder
Route legs	multiline text	1 line	not specified	Two 3 letter codes per line, optional number, optional km or mi	Enter at least one leg using 3-letter IATA codes. Ignored line X: supply two IATA codes.	`JFK-LHR` `LHR-SIN 10800`
Trip type	enum	oneway	roundtrip	Round trip doubles all legs	None	roundtrip
Cabin class	enum	economy	first	Multipliers: 1, 1.26, 1.54, 2.4	None	economy
Travelers	number	1	not specified	Step 1, floored to an integer	None	1
Include non CO2 effects	boolean	0	1	When off, RF multiplier is ignored	None	on
RF multiplier	range	1	3	Step 0.05, clamped to bounds	None	1.90
SAF share	range	0	100	Step 1, 70% savings across the share	None	0
Offset price	number	0	not specified	Step 1	None	25

If airport coordinates cannot be loaded, distance lookup can fail for some legs and you will see a warning suggesting manual distances. A leg with a missing or non positive distance is skipped rather than forcing a misleading total.

Input and output formats

Supported input and output formats
Input	Accepted families	Output	Encoding/Precision	Rounding
Leg entry	Text lines with two airport codes, optional distance in km or mi	Leg breakdown and totals	Numbers computed as floating point	Rounded for display
Tabular exports	Copy and download tables	CSV and DOCX summaries	Distances and emissions serialized as text	CSV uses up to 3 decimals in exports
Structured export	Copy and download payload	JSON with inputs, legs, and totals	Raw computed values included	No extra rounding beyond JSON serialization
Chart exports	Download images and chart data	PNG, JPEG, WebP, and a chart CSV	Images rendered from the chart canvas	Chart CSV formats values to 3 decimals

Networking and storage behavior

To derive distances automatically, the app downloads a public airport registry as a JSON file over HTTPS. The request uses a 25 s timeout and no authentication, and your itinerary is not included in that request.

Results are computed locally and kept in memory for the current session. The package does not show any explicit use of local storage for saving your routes or results.

Performance, determinism, and safety

Per calculation work scales linearly with the number of non empty leg lines, and each resolved leg adds a small amount of constant time arithmetic. Airport registry parsing is also linear in the number of entries and is done once per session.

Given the same inputs and the same airport registry content, the computations are deterministic. Copy and download actions rely on browser permissions, so a restrictive environment can block clipboard writes or file saving without changing the computed totals.

Assumptions and limitations

Emission factors are fixed constants and do not vary by aircraft, airline, or season.
Distances derived from coordinates use a great circle approximation, not the exact flown track.
Only the first two three letter codes on a line are treated as the leg endpoints.
The cabin class multiplier scales emissions uniformly and does not model seat maps or load factors.
SAF reductions assume 70% savings across the SAF share and do not model lifecycle differences.
RF is a user chosen multiplier from 1 to 3, and it is not a forecast of a specific flight.
Round trip is modeled as a simple doubling across all legs, which does not cover open jaw itineraries.
Offset cost is a linear price per tonne estimate and is educational, not financial advice.
Heads-up If airport data cannot load, automatic distances may be unavailable until you enter distances manually.

Edge cases and error sources

Lowercase airport codes are accepted and converted to uppercase for lookup.
Blank lines are ignored, and lines without two codes are skipped with a warning.
If a line contains multiple numbers, the first match is treated as the distance.
Distances entered in miles are converted using 1.60934 km per mile.
Zero or negative distances cause that leg to be skipped.
Non numeric passenger inputs are coerced and then floored, with values below 1 treated as 1.
RF values outside 1 to 3 are clamped silently into the allowed range.
SAF share inputs outside 0 to 100 are clamped into the allowed range.
Floating point rounding can create small differences between displayed totals and exported raw JSON.
When airport coordinates are missing for a code, distance lookup fails unless a manual distance is provided.
Heads-up If a JSON highlighter is present, highlighted output is inserted as HTML, so escaping must be correct to avoid injection.

Scientific and standards context

Route entry uses three letter airport codes as used by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Cabin uplift percentages are labeled in the interface as DEFRA multipliers, referring to guidance from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Privacy and compliance

This is a browser-based calculator that performs emissions math locally, and it does not upload your route text as part of its airport data download. Treat itineraries as personal data where applicable, and use offset cost estimates as informational guidance rather than financial advice.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Flight emissions estimates become more useful when you keep inputs consistent and read the results as comparisons between scenarios rather than a single absolute truth.

Enter Route legs as one leg per line using two airport codes, for example JFK-LHR.
If you know a distance, add it after the leg as km or mi, for example LHR-SIN 10800 or LHR-SIN 6710 mi.
Choose Trip type to count legs once or to double the itinerary for a round trip.
Select Cabin class and enter Travelers to scale per passenger and total emissions.
Optionally adjust Radiative forcing, SAF share, and Offset price to explore assumptions.
If you see Distance missing, add a km or mi distance after that leg.
Review the totals, then scan the leg breakdown to see which segments dominate the footprint.

Quick example

Try a single leg like LHR-SIN 10800, set passengers to 2, and toggle RF on and off to see the difference between CO2 and CO2e totals.

If airport lookups fail, add a distance after every leg to bypass coordinate lookup.
Keep RF and SAF assumptions the same when comparing two routes.
Use the per passenger CO2e figure when comparing itineraries with different group sizes.
Export a leg table when you want to discuss which segment to avoid or replace.

Pro tip: when comparing two options, change only one assumption at a time so the difference is easy to explain.

When you have a result you trust, use the total CO2e and offset cost lines as a compact summary for travel decisions and planning.

FAQ:

Is my data stored?

The calculator runs locally and does not show any explicit saving of your routes to persistent storage. It does download an airport registry file to resolve coordinates for distances.

How accurate are results?

They are simplified estimates based on fixed factors, great circle distance, and your selected multipliers. Use them for comparisons and rough planning, not as an airline statement.

What units are used?

Distances are handled in kilometers, with optional miles accepted and converted. Emissions are shown in kilograms, and offset price uses dollars per tonne of CO2e.

Can I use it offline?

Automatic distance lookup depends on downloading the airport registry, so a disconnected session may show a load error. You can still compute emissions by typing a distance after each leg.

How do I enter legs?

Put one leg per line and include two three letter airport codes anywhere on that line. Add a number for distance when needed, and optionally add km or mi.

What does CO2e mean?

CO2e is carbon dioxide equivalent and it applies a radiative forcing multiplier to approximate additional non CO2 effects beyond fuel burn CO2. Turn RF off to see the base CO2 only.

RF is an assumption knob, not a guarantee for a specific flight.

How is offset cost computed?

The tool converts total CO2e from kilograms to tonnes by dividing by 1000, then multiplies by your offset price. It is educational guidance and not financial advice.

What about licensing?

The package metadata does not include licensing details. Follow the terms of the site that provides the calculator.

Troubleshooting:

If you see an error about missing legs, make sure at least one line contains two airport codes.
If a line is ignored, check that it contains at least two three letter codes.
If a leg shows as unresolved, add a distance in km or mi after the codes.
If clipboard copy does nothing, your browser may block clipboard access on that page.
If DOCX export fails, the host environment may not include document export support.
If the chart is blank, switch tabs once to trigger a redraw after results are available.

Blocking issue

If airport data cannot load and you did not provide manual distances, the calculator cannot resolve leg distances and will not produce totals.

Advanced Tips:

Tip Add distances to every leg when working in a restricted network.
Tip Compare itineraries using per passenger CO2e to control for group size.
Tip Keep RF and SAF fixed when testing the effect of cabin changes.
Tip Put connecting flights on separate lines to see which segment dominates.
Tip Use miles input only when you trust the conversion and keep units consistent.
Tip Export a leg table before sharing results so assumptions and distances are explicit.

Glossary:

CO2: Carbon dioxide emissions from fuel burn.
CO2e: Carbon dioxide equivalent after applying an RF multiplier.
RF: Radiative forcing multiplier used to scale CO2 into CO2e.
SAF: Sustainable aviation fuel share that reduces base CO2 in the model.
Leg: A single from airport to to airport segment in an itinerary.
Emission factor: A kg CO2 per passenger km constant chosen by distance band.
Cabin multiplier: A scaling factor applied to reflect different cabin classes.
Offset price: A dollar amount per tonne of CO2e used for cost estimates.