Sadiq Khan has reportedly accumulated enough miles on international trips over the course of the last eight years to travel to the Moon and back, an new analysis has suggested. The investigation examined the Mayor of London’s travel records and found that Mr Khan has flown more than 73,000 miles alone, with the total rising to over 473,000 miles when accounting for accompanying staff.
These flights produced an estimated 43.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide over 13 separate trips, roughly equivalent to flying 19 times around the Earth’s equator. In total, the mayor’s office purchased at least 70 seats on international flights, enough to fill a small short-haul aircraft. Some trips included large entourages, such as an eight-person team that accompanied Mr Khan to New York last September when he represented C40 Cities at an international climate conference.
Data from 2023 and 2024, collated by The Telegraph, shows Mr Khan travelling with 23 staff members on four trips to New York, Rome, and Paris, two of which were climate-related events. Previous years included trips to India and Pakistan in 2017 with seven staff at a cost of nearly £21,000, and a 2016 trip to Canada and the USA with a team of seven, costing over £32,000.
Analysts estimate that between 1,350 and 2,000 trees would need to be planted in a year to offset the carbon produced by these journeys, which is comparable to half the annual carbon absorption of Hyde Park’s trees.
Mr Khan has faced criticism for these trips, with opponents questioning whether his overseas travel aligns with his public stance on climate issues. Victoria Atkins, shadow secretary of state for environment, food, and rural affairs, said: “Anyone who lives, works, or visits London knows how it has become one giant traffic jam under Mr Khan.
“In a textbook example of Left-wing hypocrisy, ‘Climate Khan’ is happy to close roads, drive up costs for drivers and waste our time in jams, whilst preaching net zero from the comfort of his many plane journeys.”
Mr Khan has historically opposed expansions at Heathrow Airport, including the proposed third runway. In June 2023, he told reporters: “We don’t want more flights.” In January 2025, he added: “I remain opposed to a new runway at Heathrow Airport because of the severe impact it will have on noise, air pollution and meeting our climate change targets.
“I’m simply not convinced that you can have hundreds of thousands of additional flights at Heathrow every year without a hugely damaging impact on our environment.”
On the use of private jets, he said in May 2023: “Frequent air travellers should consider firstly whether a particular journey is needed at all and, if so, to take the lowest carbon options wherever possible.” Mr Khan has repeatedly encouraged Londoners to reduce their carbon footprint.
“Speaking at the 2016 launch of his action plan to tackle air pollution, he said: “With nearly 10,000 people dying early every year in London due to exposure to air pollution, cleaning up London’s toxic air is now an issue of life and death.” In 2022, he announced the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) across Greater London, describing clean air as a “right not a privilege.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The mayor has made 16 international visits by plane, compared to 34 visits by plane made by Boris Johnson when mayor. Mr Khan makes no apology for banging the drum for the capital overseas to promote growth and to generate new trade, investment and cultural links.”
Records show that in 2023 Mr Khan flew with five staff to New York for the UN Climate Ambitions Summit, totaling 41,500 air miles for the team.
The following year, he took four staff to Rome for the “Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience” summit, totaling nearly 9,000 air miles. Calculations for the carbon footprint used a United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization emissions calculator, though estimates can vary based on aircraft type, weather, and routing.
While Mr Khan promotes clean air policies at home, his international travel footprint illustrates the challenge of balancing global representation with personal and municipal carbon reduction goals.