‘Nobody takes that flight’: Drake clears the air on Toronto to Hamilton private jet flight

Drake is clearing the air.

The Canadian hip-hop star took a minute to address the recent barrage of criticism after the site CelebJets revealed one of his private jets took a 14-minute flight from Toronto to Hamilton.

Responding to the controversy, Drake said the private jet was simply being moved to be stored at a Hamilton hangar.

“This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics… nobody takes that flight,” Drake, who goes by Champagne Papi, said in a comment on Instagram.

The Twitter account “CelebJets” — dedicated to tracking the private jets of many celebrities — recently shared one of Drake’s planes travelled from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to Hamilton International Airport (YHM).

That flight on July 18 was approximately 14 minutes, cost roughly $2,729 worth of fuel and emitted around four tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air.

One of Drake’s planes also travelled from Hamilton to Toronto on an 18-minute flight on July 12, but it’s unclear why.

Last summer, Drake announced a collaboration with climate group Aspiration to “offset his touring carbon footprint.”

“Following an audit of the artist’s schedule, events, and travel, Aspiration will calculate [Drake’s] carbon footprint and use its reforestation program to offset the estimated climate impact,” a spokesperson said at the time of the announcement.

Joe Sanberg, co-founder and Aspiration board member, said of Drake that he “isn’t just ahead of the curve — he defines the curve,” and mentioned that the Canadian pop star “will be leading by example as he shows his fans how spending and saving with Aspiration can easily eliminate their carbon footprint.”

Recording artist Travis Scott left, and Kylie Jenner, right, attend the 72nd annual Parsons Benefit presented by The New School at The Rooftop at Pier 17 on Tuesday, June 15, 2021.

Drake isn’t the only celebrity whose private jet flight times have been noticed.

Kylie Jenner has been strongly criticized and singled out for her short trips. Jenner’s most recent journey between two Southern California locales lasted only 17 minutes. Similar to Drake, it’s possible that the plane was being moved to a different hangar to be stored.

But climate activists don’t seem to care as planes, in general, emit significant CO2 emissions into the air.

The transport sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation mainly come from burning fossil fuels for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes.

Jenner’s sister, Kim Kardashian, is also no stranger to quick flights. According to CelebJets, the fashion icon recently travelled from Camarillo to Van Nuys in Los Angeles on a 10-minute flight.

Kenny Chesney, the country music singer, was in the air for just 20 minutes between Akron, Ohio and Pittsburgh.

Actor Mark Wahlberg took an 11-minute flight from Des Moines, Iowa, to Newton, Iowa — a drive that takes around 35 minutes.