Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway have been slammed as empty planes fly over 8,000 miles for the series finale.

The show's airline partner, British Airways, reportedly flew two planes across the Atlantic, racking in over 8,000 air miles with no passengers for the show's final episode, which saw the Geordie duo hosting from Orlando Florida.

Several lucky viewers and audience members were given a seat on the plane after taking part in the show's challenges. Once they were dropped off in the holiday destination, the empty passenger jet reportedly flew back to the UK the next day.

READ MORE: Ant McPartlin admits he 'almost didn't show up' for ITV's Saturday Night Takeaway

Then another empty jet made the same journey from London to pick up more guests and the show's crew. The two trips resulted in over 8,000 air miles without any passengers.

However, British Airways have clarified how they've made the four trips in total as sustainable as possible, using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to cover the legs.

"We're pleased to have partnered with ITV and we purchased sustainable aviation fuel to mitigate the emissions associated with the charter flights operated as part of this trip," a spokesperson for the airline told the Mirror.

"We returned the aircraft to London and subsequently back to Orlando to continue flights for our customers over the busy Easter period and in addition, we offered cargo space on these flights.”

British Airways also explained that they offered cargo space to be purchased by ITV for the two empty journeys.

An ITV spokesperson said: "Our partnership with British Airways Holidays covers the outbound and inbound flight that seats all our place on the plane winners and crew.

"ITV shows aim to achieve the highest standards of sustainability both on and off screen and our efforts have been recognised by achieving BAFTA's 'Albert Certification' standard which is the TV industry standard kitemark for sustainability in the UK and is a requirement for all ITV shows," they told the Mirror.

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