Colonial extraction and the myth of flight: How science narratives obscure human and ecological costs of aviation's rise
Original framing: “Why we seek to fly: Books in brief” — Nature
The aviation industry’s rise is inseparable from colonial logistics—e.g., the British Empire’s airmail routes in Africa and India (1920s–40s) or the US military’s use of Pacific islands as refuelling hubs during WWII. Post-war, the Chicago Convention (1944) formalised airspace sovereignty in ways that privileged Western carriers, locking in unequal access. The narrative of 'human flight' obscures these imperial infrastructures, treating aviation as a universal good rather than a tool of geopolitical control.
The aviation industry’s narrative of human triumph obscures a colonial, extractive history—from the British Empire’s airmail routes to the racialised geographies of modern airport pollution—where flight is a privilege of the few, not a right of all.
Indigenous cosmologies and Global South models offer alternatives rooted in reciprocity and resilience, yet these are systematically excluded from 'objective' science media like *Nature*, which instead amplifies industry greenwashing. The sector’s reliance on fossil fuels and neoliberal governance ensures its growth at the expense of marginalised communities and the climate, while 'solutions' like SAFs delay the necessary demand reduction. A systemic shift requires degrowth in aviation, decolonised airspace governance, and Indigenous-led stewardship of the skies, weaving together technological innovation with ecological and social justice. The trickster’s laughter—whether of Eshu, Erasmus, or the absurdity of carbon offsets—reveals the folly of chasing the sky while our feet remain unmoored from the earth.