Disclaimer: This text reflects only the opinion of its author and does not in any way commit the official word of the French Air and Space Academy.
Courtesy of the IESF (Société des Ingénieurs et scientifiques de France) who has already published this article in its news flash
The media frenzy, the instantaneous “communication”, the permanent search for sensationalism that makes people read and sell, agitate public opinion and in turn that of politicians who have to deal with their effects: the “flygskam” (or shame of flying) born in 2018 has thus been brought into resonance this year with the global psychosis caused by Covid19 which, hopefully, will calm down in six months or a year and will perhaps unfortunately be seen by history as a source of indirect effects even more serious than the disease that caused it…
A crisis is underway, of course! It is hitting aeronautics hard, of course, but also many sectors dependent on air transport, and beyond… On this occasion, we realize the place taken in today’s world by this (too) shining symbol of a “globalization” that is now criticized. However, from an economic point of view, in terms of the volume of movement of products, the latter owes considerably more to land and sea transport than to air transport. Air transport is first and foremost about the movement of men and women: how can we forget this in the public debate? The world today is a world where real, physical knowledge of the planet and of others has made giant leaps. Admittedly, it is still unequal and unequal. But curiosity, the desire to meet, professional ties and friendships, academic exchanges, discovery, exploration, even dreams… None of this would be possible without the plane, or it would be reserved for a tiny minority who would have time to travel the world… by boat. Often, the real choice is not between “going fast or going slow” but between “going or not going”. Can we imagine the phenomenal withdrawal into oneself, the shrinking that would result from a world without planes or with a limited air force?