The Super Bowl may have ended inside the stadium, but for one observer, the real controversy began at a nearby airport.
On TikTok, user molesrcool shared a video where he told 884,000 viewers in a day and counting, "If you ever think that you’re the problem," before cutting to footage of what he says are hundreds of privatejets departing immediately after the Super Bowl.
"A friendly reminder about the horrendous fuel usage of private jets," the caption for the video said.
He points to one flight in particular, describing it as especially shameful: a trip from San Jose to Santa Rosa, roughly 99 miles (159 kms).
The creator says a private jet can burn between 100 and 500 gallons (378 and 1,893 liters) of fuel per hour.
By comparison, he notes that a ToyotaCamry holds about 13 gallons (49 liters) of fuel, enough for around two weeks of regular driving, meaning even the low end of private jet fuel use equals about five months of Camry fuel in a single hour.
Climate Impact Questioned
The TikTok comments section took off with 1,200 blunt reactions.
"Private jets should be illegal," declared one critic.
Elsewhere, "And people still defend the rich," an individual lamented.
Many pundits framed the issue as one of unequal climate responsibility, arguing that while everyday consumers are urged to cut back on energy use and commercial air travel the wealthy face fewer constraints.
"Makes a mockery of us trying anything to save the environment," a fellow critic pointed out.
Flying Private to Big Events
The Super Bowl regularly attracts celebrities, executives and affluent fans who often rely on private aviation for convenience and flexibility. Airports near host cities typically experience a surge in traffic tied to the event.
Newsweek previously spoke to Greg Raiff, CEO of Elevate Jet, who explained how since the pandemic, there has been, “dramatically more demand and more private aircraft showing up at every special event.
"One of the geographic advantages that the South Bay area has is that a lot of the people coming to the game are staying in hotels either down in San Jose, or up in San Francisco, or even in Oakland," Raiff told Newsweek.
"For the general aviation crowd coming in directly to the game, there’s a little less traffic in that immediate area because there are fewer commercial flights right there. Most people are coming from a little bit further away."
Environmental Concerns Resurface
Private aviation represents a small share of global emissions compared with commercial airlines, but its per-passenger carbon output is far higher.
Newsweek covered the backlash Taylor Swift faced due to her use of a private jet.
In many cases, details about private plane flights, including those used by high-profile celebrities, are publicly available in the U.S.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintains a database of aircraft registration and flight data, with tools to track flights using publicly accessible transponder data.
Newsweek has reached out to molesrcool for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.