SINGAPORE: Scoot announced earlier in August the launch of flights from Oct 23 connecting Changi with Melaka, a small historic city located about two-thirds of the way from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. The route is 216km long, making it the shortest in Changi Airport history.

Some netizens were quick to criticise the route, pointing out that the carbon emissions of short flights far exceed that of buses or trains, or even private vehicles.

Flights of such short distances are notoriously inefficient from a fuel consumption and emissions perspective. Take the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route for instance, which was the busiest international route in the world last year, according to travel data provider OAG.  

Of the top 20 international routes in 2023, it is the shortest at only 296km. The average flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in July 2024 was 45 minutes long plus 22 minutes of taxiing, according to Cirium aviation analytics.

This results in 37.75kg of carbon dioxide emissions per economy class seat, based on EmeraldSky Flight Emissions data from Cirium. For comparison, a bus passenger, or a person in a car of four passengers contributes approximately 10kg of emissions in a trip from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.

A Singapore-Melaka flight would take only about 20 minutes under a direct routing but will likely be in the air for 30 to 40 minutesowin online casino, resulting in approximately 30kg of carbon dioxide emissions per seat.

Travellers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). (File photo: Bernama)

• Is
• owin online casino
• Why
• Commentary
• Scoot