Premier League clubs are being called out after study shows team took one of the shortest flights ever
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Premier League football clubs have been called out for taking dozens of short haul flights this year.
An investigation has found that some of the biggest clubs in the country have been flying domestically to and from games, with some journeys taking less than 30 minutes.
The data, which was compiled by BBC Sport, looked at a sample of flights made during a two-month period (19 Jan and 19 March) this year.
Shockingly, it discovered that 81 individual domestic journeys were made by Premier League clubs in this time.
Breaking the number down further, of those flights, 59 were for Premier League matches, 16 were for FA cup fixtures, and six were for the EFL Cup.
The shortest journey took just 27 minutes, while the longest flight time was 77 minutes.
On average, journeys made by top clubs during this time lasted 42 minutes.
Included within the statistics were something called 'positioning flights', which is where virtually empty planes - 'ghost flights' - are flown to convenient airports in order to pick up players and staff.
With so much onus on us all - whether that's individuals or vast, wealthy entities such as football clubs - to try and cut down our carbon emissions, this report has raised questions over whether teams are doing enough.
The argument is often made that players need to get to and from games as quickly as possible in order to give themselves the most amount of time to recover properly.
One of the most high profile cases in recent months is Liverpool FC taking the 33-minute flight back from Newcastle in February.
Similarly, Bournemouth flew to Birmingham airport and back earlier this month, with a total travel time of just 73 minutes.
And with games piling up, it's an excuse that is used even more so now.
However, this kind of reasoning doesn't cut it with some people such as Dale Vince, who is the chairman of League One side Forest Green.
The Gloucestershire club has led the way in sustainability, using electric coaches when possible and only serving vegan food to reduce waste.
Reacting to the report, Vince said: "It's an illusion to think there is a gain for a flight of that duration, modern coaches are very comfortable and aren't going to impair the performance of the players over that short distance."
He went on: "The carbon impact is one thing… I think the bigger impact is the emotional one, the intellectual one, you've got Premier League teams setting a very bad example for the rest of the country... when we are desperately in need of getting to net zero.
"This comes just days after the latest UN report that says we absolutely have just a few years left to act to avoid the worst of the climate crisis."
LADbible has contacted Liverpool FC and Bournemouth for comment.
