Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs (L) celebrates with Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s private jet usage has sparked concern as she jets back for Travis Kelce (Picture: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

After heavy backlash for her ‘frivolous’ flights, Taylor Swift has decided to make the mad dash home on her private jet for the NFL Super Bowl.

The Man hitmaker was propelled to the centre of a fierce climate debate, intensified by flight tracker drama, as it was revealed her final Tokyo gig almost clashed with Travis Kelce’s big game.

Amid much hype and criticism, Taylor will be at the Super Bowl to see Usher perform at the Halftime show and the Kansas City Chiefs play – flying 5,548 miles in a one-way trip back.

The 34-year-old mastermind has already left Japan, with the Associated Press reporting that she headed straight from the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night to her private jet at Haneda Airport.

Thanks to Japan’s time zone – clarified by the Japanese Embassy itself – Taylor can return to Las Vegas to be by Travis’ side with plenty of downtime.

However, even dedicated Swifties questioned this trip after it raised climate concerns as she was set to fly 20,000 air miles over 10 days.

Taylor Swift on private plane


Taylor had two private jets but recently sold off one (Picture: Netflix)

Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs (L) celebrates with Taylor Swift
Travis will play in the NFL Super Bowl on Sunday (Picture: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
This comes after she garnered huge criticism for being named one of the biggest celebrity polluters in 2022, alongside the likes of Jay-Z and Kim Kardashian.

The ME! singer’s plans are under extra scrutiny after a cease-and-desist letter was sent to Jack Sweeney – who runs a private jet flight tracker – over concerns around ‘stalking’ due to her flights being publicly broadcast.

Her homeward flight to Las Vegas comes four days after jetting out to Tokyo for the next leg of the Eras Tour, racking up 5,488 miles on her way out.

After the Super Bowl – in which the Chiefs will play against the San Francisco 49ers, Taylor will have to hop back onto her private jet and head to Melbourne, Australia.

This will add another 8,154 air miles to her journey, with a whopping 19,190 miles under her belt – equating to an estimated 122 tons of CO2 emissions.

Taylor Swift graphics
Taylor is set to head back to the US after her Tokyo gigs(Picture: Metro Graphics/Emily Manley)
In terms of planting trees, it’s estimated one oak tree takes six years to absorb one ton of CO2 so 122 trees would need to be planted with half a decade of growth to offset these three flights.

After Melbourne, she’ll make the 439-mile trip to Sydney as her tour continues, before heading to Singapore, Europe, and the UK.

Taylor’s publicist, Tree Paine, previously stated that the Dear Reader singer had paid for double the credits she needed in preparation for the Eras Tour.

The carbon emissions of the Grammy winner have been cause for concern since she was named the top celebrity polluter in 2022, by the site Yard which used data from the now-suspended X account CelebrityJets.

Another site, ClimateJets, agreed with the Yard estimation of around 1,125.32 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted over that year – but named numerous celebrities as bigger polluters.

The site – which gives thanks to Jack Sweeney – includes Pitbull, Jim Carrey, Kim K, Steven Spielberg, and Elon Musk, as worse offenders.

A further climate focused flight tracker, MyClimate.org, gave an updated 2023 ranking with Taylor completely omitted from the top 30 most prolific flight takers.

While many are still naming Taylor as the biggest polluter, this seems to now be outdated, with Travis Scott topping the 2023 list instead.

Fans have been ferociously defending the Clara Bow singer on X, as Caleb Maughan wrote: ‘Taylor Swift isn’t even in the top 10 of the most jet emissions yet she’s the only one being held responsible for killing the planet.

I’m crying she’s not even in the top 30 and is treated like the only one that’s wasting fuel 😭

She deserves to be called out AND so do the rest of them. Just please come correct https://t.co/JgH04NX4q8

— Lisa (they/them) (@countmytime) February 7, 2024

‘This is how I know y’all don’t gaf. You just dislike her for no reason and this gives you one.’

User Adri said: ‘Wait I’m so lost, why was the entirety of the internet saying Taylor Swift is the biggest polluter? Why aren’t we calling out Travis, Celine, Beyoncé, Jay Z, and Robert Kraft who were all at the Grammys. Do y’all actually care about emissions?’

A more balanced tweet came from Lisa, who added: ‘I’m crying she’s not even in the top 30 and is treated like the only one that’s wasting fuel 😭 She deserves to be called out AND so do the rest of them. Just please come correct.’

What is carbon offsetting?

With so many celebrities flying around for their tours and personal holidays, a system is in place for them – and businesses – to offset their carbon.

Tours are part and parcel of being an artist and celebrities are expected to contribute masses of CO2 emissions as they travel the world.

To offset this, celebrities will purchase carbon credits which pay for climate projects to counteract their fossil fuel usage.

These credits are entirely optional and aim to help planet-positive projects but there is little research into how effective these schemes are.

Alex Goldschmidt agreed: ‘All this energy about Taylor Swift’s carbon emissions when she’s not even in the top 30 celebrity private jet users…while touring.

‘You created a world where it’s hard for her to exist in public safely and would hate the disruptions caused if she flew commercial. Be serious. 💀’

While Taylor may not be the worst offender in 2023, celebrities’ constant usage of private jets is still a huge problem for the planet.

Planes belonging to 200 celebrities, CEOs, and billionaires have spent a combined total of 11 years in the air since the start of 2022, according to the Guardian.

Taylor Swift on private plane
She also is said to lend her plane to friends (Picture: Netflix)

Taylor Swift on private plane
Taylor’s fans have defended her against the criticism (Picture: Netflix)
These 44,739 flights are contributing massively to the global carbon footprint, and are estimated to equate to the total emissions of almost 40,000 Brits.

Safety of megastars should be considered but the frivolous usage of jets – including Taylor’s 13-minute flight from Illinois to Missouri in January – is still a concern.

Even if she wasn’t a top polluter in 2023, her dating life could prove her downfall if she doesn’t heed fans’ alarm over fleeting trips home, mid-tour.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Taylor’s reps for comment.

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