A veteran Air France pilot has gone viral on social media after quitting due to “eco-anxiety” regarding the pollution caused by operating aircraft.
After over two decades flying for the carrier, Anthony Viaux said in a post on LinkedIn that he planned to resign from his position as captain. In the post – translated from French to English – he said his decision came after taking two years of sabbatical leave.
“… [T]he only solution I had found [was] to take stock and try to lighten a little the weight of the eco-anxiety that was eating me,” Viaux said.
While he acknowledged other industries were “much more polluting than aviation,” Viaux said aeronautics shouldn’t ignore its contributions to global warming.
“Airbus predicts nothing less than a doubling of the number of aircraft in the world by 2041,” he said. “But where was the ‘world after’ COVID, supposed to be more lucid and sober, lost? Because I am increasingly realizing that the ecological emergency is now! You just have to turn on the TV to see it.”
Viaux said that while he loved his job connecting with people around the world, every flight is paid at a high price by burning oil.
“Of course, I am aware that my resignation will not save the planet of course, but burning thousands of liters of kerosene every time I went to work, I could no longer do it,” Viaux said.
The post garnered over 7,000 reactions on LinkedIn and rallied nearly 900 comments. Several commenters shared in Viaux’s excitement for his new work in naturopathy and music. Others criticized the notion that aircraft were as responsible for global warming as other transportation pollutants.
During his two-decade tenure at the airline, he piloted a variety of aircraft, including Airbus A320-series jets and the A340.
According to the United Nations Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), CO2 emissions from aviation account for approximately 2% of greenhouse emissions around the world. This amount of aviation emissions is expected to grow around 3-4% per year, though improvements in fuel efficiency are expected to partially offset this growth.
