The estimated cost and carbon of official travel

Reported travel this year works out at roughly 13,356 tonnes of CO₂ and about $38,295,199 in aircraft operating cost across everyone tracked here. Both are estimates, and both are almost certainly low.

The arithmetic

• Footprint = minimum reported distance × an emission factor for the aircraft that person is assumed to travel on.
• Cost = minimum reported distance ÷ assumed cruising speed × published operating cost per flight hour.

Three things make these figures uncertain: the distance is a minimum, the aircraft is an assumption, and per-hour costs cover operating cost only — not security, motorcades, advance teams or support aircraft, which for heads of state can dwarf the flying itself. Every assumption used is listed on the methodology page with its source.

Estimated footprint this year

1. 1
   Donald Trump

   Boeing VC-25A ("Air Force One")

   ≈ 4,277.1 t CO₂
2. 2
   JD Vance

   Boeing C-32A ("Air Force Two")

   ≈ 1,704.4 t CO₂
3. 3
   Marco Rubio

   Boeing C-32A (US State Department)

   ≈ 1,565.8 t CO₂
4. 4
   Volodymyr Zelensky

   Chartered long-range government aircraft

   ≈ 1,441.4 t CO₂
5. 5
   Benjamin Netanyahu

   Boeing 767 ("Wing of Zion")

   ≈ 1,155.2 t CO₂
6. 6
   Xi Jinping

   Boeing 747-8 (Air China state flight)

   ≈ 969.3 t CO₂
7. 7
   Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

   Airbus A330-200 (Turkish state flight)

   ≈ 553.5 t CO₂
8. 8
   Anthony Albanese

   Boeing 737 BBJ (RAAF VIP flight)

   ≈ 527.5 t CO₂
9. 9
   Vladimir Putin

   Ilyushin Il-96-300PU

   ≈ 409.1 t CO₂
10. 10
    Narendra Modi

    Boeing 777-300ER ("Air India One")

    ≈ 225 t CO₂
11. Figures on this board are estimates derived from reported appearances, not measurements.

Estimated operating cost this year

1. 1
   Donald Trump

   Boeing VC-25A ("Air Force One")

   ≈ $28,172k
2. 2
   JD Vance

   Boeing C-32A ("Air Force Two")

   ≈ $2,228k
3. 3
   Marco Rubio

   Boeing C-32A (US State Department)

   ≈ $2,047k
4. 4
   Volodymyr Zelensky

   Chartered long-range government aircraft

   ≈ $1,502k
5. 5
   Xi Jinping

   Boeing 747-8 (Air China state flight)

   ≈ $1,077k
6. 6
   Benjamin Netanyahu

   Boeing 767 ("Wing of Zion")

   ≈ $1,019k
7. 7
   Anthony Albanese

   Boeing 737 BBJ (RAAF VIP flight)

   ≈ $556k
8. 8
   Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

   Airbus A330-200 (Turkish state flight)

   ≈ $521k
9. 9
   Vladimir Putin

   Ilyushin Il-96-300PU

   ≈ $430k
10. 10
    Narendra Modi

    Boeing 777-300ER ("Air India One")

    ≈ $233k
11. Figures on this board are estimates derived from reported appearances, not measurements.

The assumptions behind each row

Where no credible published rate exists for someone's aircraft, we leave the estimate out rather than guess — which is why some names appear on the distance board but not on these two.