The climate impact of air travel is increasingly being acknowledged and problematized. As work in the academic sector often involves frequent long-distance travel, this development calls into question academic practices and is causing academics and academic institutions to reconsider, debate, and adapt their travel behavior and policies. This paper discusses a case study at ETH Zurich, one of the first universities with an ongoing, university-wide project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to air travel by faculty, staff, and students. Based on a qualitative analysis of interviews (N = 15), a survey (N = 176), and other data sources, I outline arguments for and against reducing air travel. I focus on assumed causal relations between air travel and doing ‘good’ academic work. The results reveal that the participants expected reduced air travel to affect their productivity, success, excellence, internationality, quality of research, teaching, visibility and presence, role modelling, consistency, freedom, and the humanitarian impact of their research. While the dominant assumption was that reducing air travel would harm science, this study reveals alternative assumptions that science would benefit or remain unaffected. Results also show that the debate on reducing air travel may encourage transformations in the organization of academia. Drawing on the experience of the air travel project at ETH Zurich may help other institutions and individuals initiate or advance discussions on the ethics, necessity, and future of academic air travel while acknowledging the diversity of viewpoints on air travel reduction as well as its deep implications for academia.

航空旅行对气候的影响越来越多地得到承认并提出问题。由于学术部门的工作经常涉及频繁的长途旅行，这种发展对学术实践提出了质疑，并促使学术界和学术机构重新考虑、辩论和调整他们的旅行行为和政策。本文讨论了苏黎世联邦理工学院的一个案例研究，苏黎世联邦理工学院是首批在大学范围内实施一项旨在减少教职员工和学生航空旅行造成的温室气体排放的项目的大学之一。基于对访谈（N = 15）、调查（N = 176）和其他数据源的定性分析，我概述了支持和反对减少航空旅行的论据。我专注于航空旅行和做好学术工作之间的假设因果关系。结果表明，参与者预计减少航空旅行会影响他们的生产力、成功、卓越、国际性、研究质量、教学、知名度和存在、榜样、一致性、自由以及他们研究的人道主义影响。虽然主要假设是减少航空旅行会损害科学，但这项研究揭示了科学会受益或不受影响的替代假设。结果还表明，关于减少航空旅行的辩论可能会鼓励学术组织的变革。借鉴苏黎世联邦理工学院航空旅行项目的经验，可以帮助其他机构和个人发起或推进有关道德、必要性、