If young people have a strong environmental awareness, acts do not always follow thought. Very critical of the air, accused of participating strongly in global warming, children under 35 say that they increasingly resort to clean transport modes such as the train.
According to a survey* directed by IFOP and the SIA Cabinet for the National Aviation Federation and its professions, the Union of French airports, they are a third to say more sensitive to the criticisms that can be issued on the fact of taking the plane.
Another slightly older study (2023) showed that 12% of the French have already taken the plane in their lives declare that they feel shame when they use this means of transport.
But, in fact, more than 35 years are increasingly numerous to use this travel mode. Now they represent 46% of passengers, or 8 more points between 2016 and 2024.
The increase is obvious among 15-24-year-olds who last year of 19% of passengers against 13% in 2016.
A quarter of the population, but almost the motion for trafficking
“Where they represent a quarter of the French population, children under 35 represent almost half of the traffic,” summarizes the study.
If the paradox is obvious, it is explained, however, by the democratization of distant trips. Therefore, as a whole, just a fifth of travelers claim to use the internal travel plane to France. “In fact, for 57% of the interviewees, the plane often remains the only solution to achieve certain distances,” we can read.
In addition, “the French who take the plane or want to take it are ready to adapt their behavior to limit their impact: take the plane only for distant destinations (79%), favor the most virtuous companies (75%), limit short stages and lighter trips (69%), even give up certain leisure trips (63%).”
At the same time, they trust (70%) in the capacity of the sector to accelerate its decarbonation thanks to more sober devices or to the use of cleaner fuels such as SAF.
*: Survey conducted by IFOP with a sample of 3,995 people, representative of the 18 -year -old French population. Interviews in Continental France were made by the self -administered online questionnaire in May 2025.
Source: BFM TV
