Feed aggregator

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Credit: UN Photo/Sourav Sarker

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, May 25 2026 (IPS)

The United Nations has had a longstanding tradition, described by some as a “privilege”, where most senior staffers are entitled to highly-expensive First Class or Business Class seats on trips worldwide.

But with the world body facing a severe cash crisis –and demands by the Trump administration calling for drastic cost-cutting—another privilege is likely to end up on the chopping block.

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/senior-management-group

Speaking off-the-record, a former UN official told Inter Press Service: “On the rare occasion I travelled with the UN for work, I was always shocked by the enormous amounts paid for air tickets. I find it interesting to see that it took the UN a deep financial crisis to invite the staff to a ”voluntary” downgrade”

Setting the record straight, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told IPS: “To be clear, a Secretary-General is the only person in the UN cleared for first class travel, and since about the start of the year, this Secretary-General no longer sits in the first class cabin.”

As part of the Organization’s ongoing efforts to reduce travel costs, and in response to the General Assembly’s call to strengthen measures to promote voluntary downgrades from business or first-class travel entitlements, the UN’s Human Resources Services Division (HRSD), in collaboration with the Travel and Transportation Section (TTS), in the Department of Operational Support (DOS), has launched the Voluntary Downgrade Pilot which introduced a set of new incentives to encourage voluntary downgrade for official air travels by United Nations travelers.

“The initiative is designed to encourage United Nations travelers to voluntarily downgrade from business class to premium economy, or equivalent cabins, by offering eligible travelers, a series of additional incentives aimed at maintaining comfort and convenience, while generating cost savings for the Organization,” says a circular released 18 May.

Meanwhile, in the latest figures released in one published report, the UN spent approximately $319 million on staff travel in one recent reporting year, covering roughly 98,000 trips.

Of those trips:

• About 12,000 flights were business class
• Only 51 flights were first class

The report also noted that the Secretary-General has recommended curbing first-class travel for senior officials.

Current UN travel rules state that:

• Most staff up to D-2 level normally travel economy, though some long-haul exceptions permit a higher class.
• Under-Secretaries-General (USGs) and Assistant Secretaries-General (ASGs) are entitled to “the class immediately below first class,” which in practice is generally business class on most airlines.

So, while the UN’s total annual travel spending has been in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars, the portion specifically attributable to senior officials flying business or first class is likely only a fraction of that total — probably in the tens of millions rather than hundreds of millions annually, based on the relatively small number of first-class tickets reported. The UN has steadily tightened rules on premium travel over the years, according to the report.

In addition to the existing entitlements for travelers, such as reimbursement for advance seat selection, in-flight meals and beverages, and one additional checked bag, the new incentives, according to the staff circular include:

Rest Periods (subject to supervisory approval)

• One additional day of rest upon arrival at the duty station, with up to one day of additional Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA), if arriving early.
• The option to remain at the official business location for one extra day prior to return, with DSA, if this reduces overall ticket cost.
• One additional calendar day of rest upon return to duty station (no DSA).

Reimbursement of costs for

• Lounge access at departure and connection points for both outbound and inbound travel (where applicable).
• Purchase of “extra space seating” including “couch style” in economy class, if offered by the airline.

The circular appeals to staffers to consider the above incentives when planning official travel, ”and should you opt for voluntary downgrade, you may select any combination, provided that the total cost is less than the entitled business class fare, keeping in mind, any additional rest periods selected under the pilot will remain subject to the approval of your first reporting officer.”

How to get started

• Explore details on iSeek: New incentives for travelers: Voluntary downgrade pilot launches | iSeek
• Check out how-to guides on how to opt in;
• Contact your local HR, Travel, or Admin Office for further information and support.

“We encourage all staff to take advantage of these options and contribute to more cost-effective travel practices across the Organization”.

HRSD in the Office of Support Operations (OSO) and TTS in the Facilities and Commercial Acitivites Service (FCAS) within the Division of Administration (DOA), are part of the Department of Operationsl Support (DOS).

Read about DOS on iSeek or our website and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

  

 

Deux sujets font la Une des parutions de ce début de semaine : les vifs débats politiques et sécuritaires autour du projet de révision constitutionnelle, et l'inquiétude grandissante face à l'épidémie d'Ebola qui appelle désormais à une mobilisation diplomatique et sous-régionale.

Despite holding fast to its alliance with the United States, several recent developments suggest that Manila has not forgotten how to hedge.

A General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) is expected to be high on the agenda when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits Japan later this week.

The Jamaat-e-Islami and affiliated groups are attacking Bangladesh’s long tradition of cultural and social pluralism.

A recent Supreme Court decision threatens a core democratic principle.

New parties and fragmented politics will make forming the next Greek government difficult

In an inconspicuous bar in Miami's Wynwood neighbourhood, far from the offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Intelligence Online met with two figures operating behind the scenes in Washington's covert war on the Chinese brokers fuelling the global fentanyl [...]

A Paris court on 16 April dismissed a French diplomat's bid to overturn a foreign ministry decision refusing her "secret" [...]

A series of revelations concerning the covert participation of Gulf states in the Iran war has prompted speculation over rival [...]

While a question mark hangs over whether US President Donald Trump will resume hostilities against Iran, several US embassies in [...]

US – State Department plans to boost fight against online disinformationPublic diplomacy head Sarah Rogers is looking to buy tools [...]

The Latvian State Police announced on 21 May the arrest [...]

Will Washington squander Tokyo’s new security commitment?

Not choosing is not an option.

Le directeur général de l'Organisation mondiale de la Santé, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a averti lundi que l'épidémie d'Ebola qui sévit dans le pays était "extrêmement grave et difficile" à gérer, appelant les États voisins à agir "immédiatement". Il est attendu mardi en RD Congo, pays dans lequel l'OMS a dénombré, à ce jour, "plus de 900 cas suspects et 220 décès suspects".

The property developer Truong My Lan is currently serving a life sentence for masterminding Vietnam's largest ever corruption scandal.

The Moroccan government wants more Western holidaymakers to visit the territory it claims to own.

South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns clinch their second African Champions League title with a 2-1 aggregate win over Moroccan club AS FAR in the final.

Et si l’on parlait de la Tunisie autrement ? Invitée du Journal de l’Afrique sur France 24, la journaliste et écrivaine Fawzia Zouari présente son Dictionnaire amoureux de la Tunisie, un ouvrage intime et politique à la fois. Au micro de Fatimata Wane, elle évoque la mémoire tunisienne, les femmes, la langue, les fractures du pays mais aussi cette identité singulière qui continue de façonner la Tunisie contemporaine.