Flight Carbon Calculator
Calculate CO₂ emissions for any flight — by cabin class, with RFI and offset pricing.
Enter a route above to calculate CO₂ emissions.
Methodology
Flight CO₂ emissions: what the numbers mean
2.5%
Global CO₂ share
Aviation accounts for roughly 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions and up to 3.5% of total climate forcing when non-CO₂ effects are included via the RFI factor.
600–900 kg
Transatlantic economy
A Frankfurt–New York economy flight emits approximately 600–900 kg CO₂ per passenger — equivalent to driving a petrol car 3,000–4,000 km.
3–4×
Business vs economy
Business class passengers emit 3–4× more CO₂ than economy on the same flight, because emissions are allocated proportionally to seat floor area.
How it works
How the ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator works
The international standard for aviation carbon accounting, used by airlines, the EU ETS, and corporate travel tools worldwide.
Full methodology explanationThree inputs
The calculator uses great-circle distance between airports, the aircraft type (or fleet average), and the passenger load factor. Fuel burn per seat-km is derived from aircraft performance databases.
CO₂ conversion
Total fuel burn is multiplied by 3.16 to convert kerosene weight to CO₂ mass, then distributed across passengers weighted by seat class floor area.
RFI factor (1.9×)
An optional Radiative Forcing Index of 1.9× accounts for non-CO₂ climate effects at altitude — contrails, ozone, NOₓ. The GHG Protocol recommends CO₂-only for corporate reporting.
Confidence scoring
Each result includes a confidence score based on data completeness. Known aircraft types achieve high confidence; unknown aircraft use fleet-average values for the distance band.
Reference data
Common routes and their CO₂ emissions
Economy class, per passenger, ICAO v13.1 methodology with fleet-average aircraft.
Click any route for a detailed CO₂ breakdown and live calculator.
FAQ
Flight Carbon Calculator — Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about flight emissions and this calculator.