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The airport‑as‑engine of growth story is powerful, but the data tells a different story. We sit down with Denise Auclair, who leads the Travel Smart campaign at Transport & Environment, to unpack a new Europe‑wide study that tracks the real relationship between air traffic and prosperity across 274 regions. 

The headline is striking: in much of northern and western Europe, economic growth tends to drive more flying rather than flying driving growth. Once networks mature, extra frequencies deliver diminishing returns, and the old promise of expansion starts to look like a costly habit.

We explore why aviation’s emissions are so hard to tackle and we also dig into tourism balances: when cheap flights pull residents abroad, local economies can lose more than they gain, especially when a small group of frequent flyers accounts for a large share of trips.

Join us as we map a practical route to sustainable travel with Denise: clearer evidence, better choices, and systems that reward time, health, and climate, not just passenger counts. 

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