ghost flight
Passengerless scheduled departure
A ghost flight is a commercial airline flight that operates with few or no passengers.
Airlines sometimes run nearly empty planes to retain airport slots, meet regulatory requirements, or reposition aircraft.
The term gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when airlines flew empty flights to maintain their route rights: Environmental groups criticized the waste of ghost flights during the pandemic.
- airportAviation passenger facility
- airlineAir transport company
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
- seatPlace for sitting
- emptyHolding nothing inside
passenger seat · specter · haunt · runway · carbon emissions · carbon footprint · climate change · liminal space · dead of night · greenwashing · carbon offsetting · pandemic · airspace · echo · aviation · ethereal · jet · air traffic