The Cannes Film Festival is drawing a very different kind of attention this year — and it has little to do with red carpets or premiere buzz.

Instead, a growing backlash has taken hold over private jet use after new research, as reported by Euronews, said over 700 private flights connected to last year's festival used about 2 million liters — about 530,000 gallons — of fuel.

Similar spikes in private jet usage around events like the Super Bowl, major concerts, and holidays have drawn similar upset. 

The Cannes debate has ignited since NGO Transport and Environment published findings linking the star-studded festival to a sharp spike in luxury aviation pollution. 

The timing has only intensified the response. Concerns over fuel supply disruptions tied to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz are already raising fears of flight cancellations and broader effects on food systems and emergency response.

According to the research, those Cannes-linked private flights used enough non-renewable, polluting kerosene, a specialized, highly refined jet fuel, to produce air pollution on a par with roughly 14,000 people making commercial round-trip flights between Paris and Athens, according to Euronews. 

T&E also said that fuel burn comes to about 30 million kilometers in a typical gas-powered car — roughly 750 laps around the equator. 

"With climate change accelerating, this reckless excess is outrageous – especially now when limited available fuel is desperately needed elsewhere for basic food production, disaster relief efforts, and other humanitarian emergencies," said former private jet pilot Katie Thompson, according to Euronews. 

Thompson pointed to actor Pedro Pascal's example after he flew economy to Cannes last year, arguing there is no reason others can't do the same or "take the train where possible."

The anger is not just about optics. Private jets are among the most polluting ways to travel on a per-passenger basis, and critics say burning that much fuel for a luxury event looks especially damaging at a moment when limited fuel supplies could affect far more than holidays.

Experts cited in Euronews warned that shortages could ripple into food production, disaster relief, and humanitarian aid, and noted that airlines had already canceled roughly 13,000 flights scheduled for May worldwide.

Campaigners are also focusing on what they describe as a fairness issue. Under the European Union's emissions trading system, most private jets — about two-thirds — and all international flights avoid the carbon tax paid by commercial passengers flying within the bloc. 

That has added momentum to calls for tighter rules on luxury flying, particularly as governments ask the public to make more climate-conscious choices in everyday life.

Euronews noted that some of the strongest criticism has come from people with direct experience in aviation. Thompson described the scale of private jet use as "reckless excess." Former Air France pilot Anthony Viaux said the image of wealthy attendees "burning through scarce fuel to get to a film festival" was "tone-deaf" and "obscene." 

Julia Davies of Patriotic Millionaires UK argued that private jets should at least pay the same taxes as ordinary workers, adding that grounding them would help preserve fuel for vital services.

For many watching, the Cannes controversy has become a flashpoint for a much bigger question: who gets to waste scarce resources, and who is left to deal with the consequences?

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.