Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spent $230,000 from his political operation on private jet flights between April and June 2025, reported KUTV.
The senator, who conducted public events in multiple states focused on economic inequality, has hired planes solely from Ventura Jets, according to government filings.
These payments occurred as Sanders visited 24 cities for rallies that drew audiences of up to 36,000 attendees.
Private jets emit more carbon pollution per traveler than standard airline service. A typical private aircraft releases more dirty gases per individual compared to economy seats on regular flights.
For instance, one coast-to-coast private journey can generate the same amount of carbon dioxide that an average American produces over months of automobile use.
Sanders’ political organization also purchased $19,000 in standard airline seats from United Airlines during the same timeframe. The campaign had already spent $221,723 on private plane rentals from January through March 2025.
During a Fox News appearance in May, Sanders was questioned about his travel choices. He defended the practice.
“You think I’m gonna be sitting on a waiting line at United while 30,000 people are waiting?” Sanders said. “You run a campaign, and you do three or four or five rallies in a week. It is the only way you can get around to talk to 30,000 people.”
“That’s what campaign travel is about,” he added. “We’ve done it in the past. We’re going to do it in the future.”
It should be noted that Sanders has fought for a number of policies, some of which have passed into law and made a significant impact on reducing pollution far beyond his travel tallies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act‘s many rebates and soon-to-expire tax credits for things like installing solar panels and electricity-efficient heat pumps. Still, it’s more than fair to question whether Sanders and his campaign team couldn’t work out commercial flight logistics, perhaps including expedited security clearance with TSA aware of his arrival, as many politicians and celebrities manage.
Air transportation is one of the fastest-growing categories of climate pollution. Aviation accounts for approximately 2.5% of worldwide carbon output, according to the International Energy Agency, but private jets add disproportionate amounts of pollution while carrying minimal passengers.
If a private jet is large and full of several dozen passengers, it’s much closer to a commercial flight, almost like “carpooling” in the sky, and that kind of chartered flight can end up reasonable and even reach over 150 passengers for something like a team in the National Football League, but most private flights carry only a handful of passengers.
If you’d like to reduce your travel footprint, consider taking trains for shorter trips and flying direct when air travel is necessary. If you want to be hardcore, you can also choose economy seating over business class to reduce demand for airlines to accommodate fewer passengers per flight in exchange for a bit more space, though ultimately, an extra few inches of legroom are not the nits worth picking in comparison to private jets and yachts.
In any case, when politicians and public figures choose cleaner transportation options, it sets an example that can influence broader travel habits, and while Sanders’ interest in making his campaigning easier to achieve with adequate rest and reduced time allocated to traveling, perhaps more consideration of the environmental and financial toll of those private flights could change his mind moving forward.
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