flight shame
/flaɪt ʃeɪm/
CommonGuilt or social embarrassment about flying due to the environmental impact of air travel.
Originated in Scandinavia as a genuine social movement before becoming internet shorthand. The irony of posting about travel while feeling flight shame is frequently mocked.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | booked flights to bali and the flight shame hit immediately. worth it tho | The person felt guilty about flying long-haul but justified it to themselves. | instagram, 2023 |
| 02 | my cousins live in australia. i refuse to feel flight shame for visiting family | The person is drawing a line between unnecessary flights and essential ones. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | greta thunberg did not sail across the atlantic to watch you take a 45 minute flight | Jokingly invoking a famous climate activist to call out unnecessary short-haul flights. | x, 2023 |
| 04 | took a train instead of flying for the first time and honestly no flight shame feels incredible | Choosing a lower-emission option provided emotional relief alongside environmental benefit. | tiktok, 2024 |
Use it when
- Someone feels guilty about booking or taking a flight.
- Someone is judging another person for flying frequently.
- Describing the social pressure around air travel choices.
- Joking about the contradiction of wanting to travel while caring about the environment.
Do not use it when
- You mean general climate guilt unrelated to travel.Use “carbon-footprint-guilt” instead.
- You mean general fear of flying.
Flight shame vs carbon footprint guilt
flight shame
Flight shame is specifically about air travel, often with a social or public dimension.
VS
carbon-footprint-guilt
Carbon footprint guilt is broader and applies to any personal environmental impact.
Origin and context
Translated from the Swedish word flygskam, popularized by Swedish climate activists including Greta Thunberg's family around 2018. The term and the movement gained global traction through 2019.
- First seen
- 2018
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/flight-shameUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0