Traveller sparks debate after flying from New York to London for 24-hour trip

A traveller has sparked a debate after flying from the US to London for only a 24-hour trip.

On his Instagram, Kevin Droniak frequently shares videos of his solo trips, along with tips to his followers for travelling. In a video shared earlier this week, he documented his trip from New York to London, noting that he’d only be in England for one day.

“If you don’t travel often, you’re going to have a conniption at what I’m doing right now,” he said, as he documented himself going to an airport in New York City. “I’m going to London for just one night. That’s why I’m heading to the airport with just a backpack.”

He explained that he was only going to London for 24 hours because he “found a cheap flight”. As he showed himself walking through the airport, he added: “And you know how I love a quick trip.”

After briefly showcasing the front of his passport, he shared one of the airport worker’s candid reactions to his trip, continuing: “Even the check-in lady was like: ‘Are you seriously flying across the world for one night?’”

He then explained his “logic” behind the situation and why it ultimately made sense for him to fly to a different country for a one-day trip.

“My flight is only six and a half hours, and it’s a red eye,” he said. “And I’m going to be going to sleep anyway tonight. So I might as well go to sleep on a plane and wake up in London.”

The video continued with footage of Droniak on the plane – as he was preparing to go to sleep – before he showcased a view of London from his seat’s window on the flight.

“Good morning London. There is nowhere else I’d rather wake up to,” he said. He went on to share a shot of himself in the city and quipped: “What am I doing here?”

He then described another takeaway that he wanted viewers to get from his trip, as he filmed himself walking through different parts of London, including Tower Bridge.

“I want to break the stigma of having to block out a week to travel somewhere,” he said. “It’s not that serious and you’re going to have fun for a quick trip.”

Droniak ended the video with footage of himself on a double-decker bus, while he concluded: “I’m just enjoying the day.”

He quipped about the quick trip in the caption, writing: “I’m so chaotic for this, but going to London for the day was so cheeky of me.”

The video has quickly gone viral on Instagram, with more than 74,800 likes, as of 17 May.

However, there have been mixed reactions in the comments, with many people claiming the flight for the short trip was bad for the environment. They also critcised Droniak’s decision to post the video, since not everyone has the finances to travel in this way.

“Nice work dumping all that carbon in the atmosphere for one day,” one wrote, while another added: “Fun content, but it’s also very polluting!”

A third asked: “How out of touch and rich do you have to be to make content like this.”

Speaking to The Independent, Droniak hit back at the critcism, noting that he doesn’t do spontaneous trips like this often and that the plane was going to be flying out of New York “with or without” him on it.

“Therefore emitting the same amount of carbon as it would have if I didn’t board the plane. I believe people should put their energy towards celebrities who abuse their private jets and also the major corporations who are contributing to climate change, instead of me, a consumer,” he said.

However, many people came to the traveller’s defence, praising his idea to take the trip to London, even if it was only for 24 hours. Others hit back at the claim that his flight was contributing to pollution.

“‘I have to sleep tonight anyway so I might as well wake up somewhere else’ is SO SMART OMG,” one wrote.

“Imagine a quick weekend getaway. So what did you do over the weekend? ‘Oh I went to London, was craving a baguette,’” another added. “EPIC.”

“Y’all talking about pollution like the plane wasn’t going there anyway,” a third commented. “Wasn’t a private plane that only he took.”

Droniak later shared another video about his trip to London and the things he did throughout the day, which included getting tea with friends and going on a stroll through Notting Hill. The video ended with him back on his plane to New York, at which point he revealed why he was grateful that he took the trip.

“I was back on the plane at 6am thinking to myself: ‘Was this worth it?’ And I thought about it, and honestly yes,” he said. “Because the flight was only $350 and I would have spent that much going out in a weekend in New York. And now I have a memory that I’ll never forget.”

Speaking to The Independent, Droniak emphasised that the trip was worth it, since he didn’t waste any time in the city because he knew the “clock was ticking”.

“I knew I only had a short amount of time in London, so I made the most of every minute and knew that I could sleep on my flight back home. Personally, I don’t mind flying, so with just a 6 hour flight to get to London, I justify it as a fun day trip,” he added.