A new report has claimed that no-frills airlines cost less for the environment with their low carbon footprint.

Budget airlines create a smaller carbon footprint, according to a new report.

The travel search engine Liligo claims that no-frills airlines cost less for the environment because they pack in more passengers and promote mainly short-haul destinations.

Planes belonging to carriers Ryanair or Eastjet were on average only three years old and already designed for energy-efficiency.

An average customer could reduce their carbon footprint by 20 per cent if they flew with a budget airline instead of one of the larger carriers in business class, concluded the study.

Gbenga Kogbe, UK manager at the search engine, said: For a long time the popularity of low-cost airlines has been attacked by environmental campaigners, but our analysis reveals that low-budget airlines are conveying passengers with a lower carbon footprint than many other airlines.

Interestingly, their drive for cost-savings also makes these airlines far more carbon efficient.

The search engine is one of the first to factor in the environmental impact of flying into its results by enabling users to see the potential carbon footprint of each flight deal.