Controversial new status symbol emerges in 'uber-wealthy' Florida communities: 'This clientele tends to own properties in multiple locations'

In wealthy Florida communities, being close to the airport is no longer enough. Residents and those moving to the state are putting private air travel at the top of their lists — and they're taking it to the extreme.

Airpark communities offer multimillion-dollar homes with onsite hangars and access to runways that might as well be in their backyards, the New York Post reported. They include Wing South Airpark in Naples, the Wellington Aero Club, and Tailwinds Airpark in Jupiter.

A Google map shows more than a dozen homes within a stone's throw of each runway. The private airports and surrounding communities have been around for decades.

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Real estate prices are climbing in South Florida's luxury market, and it's "thanks in part to the popularity of private jet travel," according to the Post. The area — home to five of the busiest 25 private jet airports in the United States — is only a short flight from major cities in the Northeast, Southwest, and Midwest.

"Private jet access is a critically important feature of the uber-wealthy lifestyle," Coldwell Banker Realtor Cara Ameer said. "This clientele tends to own properties in multiple locations and travels frequently, so being able to get in and out easily is key, without the hassle of public airports."

It's one thing to prioritize ease of travel; it's another to park your plane in the garage. Either way, traveling by air is the most pollutive activity an individual can engage in, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Carbon emissions from the airline industry rose 75% from 1990 to 2012 and are continuing to increase, the David Suzuki Foundation says. 

That's why celebrities take so much flak for their private jet habits, which include minutes-long flights. High-speed rail may be the answer for some trips, but change is the only way to make the airline industry more sustainable. By 2050, flying could contribute 25% of all carbon pollution unless governments and corporations around the world adopt greener practices to keep the warming of the planet below 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, per the Suzuki Foundation.

And while airpark homes may not belong to billionaires, private flights and similar activities of the wealthy, such as yachting and investing in polluting industries, are increasingly tearing down the world we live in. Those with money do as they please while everyone else suffers the consequences.

Having a hangar on your property is just another part of the problem.

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