Flight shaming is a bit like catholic guilt – probably deserved, but also not very helpful. The origin of the expression is the Swedish term flygskam, which means “flight shame.” The term was coined in 2018. It was spearheaded by a small group of celebrities, including musician Malena Ernman, the mother of climate activist Greta Thunberg.
According to the BBC, flight shaming managed to lower the number of international flights at Swedish airports by 4% within a year.
Though some people hate flight shaming, others love it. The Telegraph reported in 2020 that flight shaming had led to a record number of people choosing trains over planes to get from London to Glasgow.