#TBT: That Time Heathrow’s Ghost Flights Were A Serious Problem

Ghost flights aren’t what they seem—they aren’t ghostly images of planes flying through the air that aren’t really there; rather, they’re mostly empty planes flying from one airport to another, using up a lot of fuel and adding a substantial amount of pollution into the air. In 2007, this was an epidemic.

Have you ever been on a ghost flight? It’s one that’s mostly empty except for the crew and maybe, potentially, a few customers on board. It may seem like a perk for travelers, but to some airlines, it can be considered a necessity—even though it’s costly and terrible for the environment.

In 2007, London Heathrow was plagued with these ghost flights, at least six times a week. The airline was the now-defunct British Mediterranean Airways, which would send empty flights from London to Cardiff in Wales at night and then fly them back in the morning.

British Mediterranean did this in order to comply with runway rules at Heathrow. The airport operates with only two runways, which limits the slot pairs—the rights to take off and land at the airport during a specific time—to about 650. If they aren’t used 80 percent of the time, Heathrow gives away the slot to the next airline waiting on the list.

Airlines are intensely protective over their slot pairs, which leads to the ghost flights. British Mediterranean flew the empty aircraft to make sure their slot was still getting use after a route was abruptly cancelled, so they wouldn’t lose the slot to another airline. The problem is that this can be expensive and damaging to the environment. The BBC reported during the time that each flight British Mediterranean sent released more than five tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.