EasyJet calls for ‘polluter tax’ based on aircraft type and distance travelled

EasyJet has launched a ‘green’ campaign which recommends that Air Passenger Duty is replaced with a tax based on aircraft types and distance travelled.

It says taking this approach will ensure that airlines would be incentivised to operate the most environmentally-efficient aircraft.

It has released its plans, along with a report on the environmental impact of air travel, to encourage “UK politicians to adopt a more intelligent approach to air travel”.

It will be taking full-colour full-page advertising in selected national newspapers throughout the Party Conference season and will broadcast environmental messages to its passengers on the backs of aircraft seats from early October.

Its report, called ‘Towards greener skies: the surprising truth about flying and the environment’, claims that:

– aviation CO2 accounts for about 1.6% of global greenhouse gases

– today’s aircraft are typically 70% cleaner and 75% quieter than their 1960s counterparts

– successive improvements in aviation technology could make flying 50% cleaner than today’s aircraft within 10 years and 75% cleaner by 2050

– easyJet passengers produce 95.7g of CO2 per kilometre: which is less than the average family car (around 160g CO2 per kilometre), less than Virgin’s Voyager trains (112g of CO2 per passenger kilometre), and less than the Toyota Prius (104g of CO2 per passenger kilometre)

– low-cost airline growth is not “out of control” – rather the industry has substituted for less environmentally-efficient airlines over the last 10 years and the average rate of growth is broadly unchanged over the last 20 years at 5.5%

– high-speed rail is only a realistic option for those living in or around London.

The airline says APD nets around £2.4 billion for the taxman annually, but does not reflect the emissions of a flight

“Approximately 40% of UK aviation activity is exempt (freight, private jets and transfer passengers) – APD taxes families, but not private jets,” says its report.

“APD is flat rate so a passenger going to Marrakech pays the same as one going to Melbourne.

“Individual passengers pay the same whether they chose to fly on a clean aircraft or a dirty aircraft.”

Chief executive Andy Harrison, added: “The time has come to scrap APD in its current form and replace it with a “polluter tax” that has at its heart a very simple notion – those that fly on airlines that pollute less, like easyJet, should pay less.

“We should all demand a more intelligent approach to flying. Politicians must incentivise consumers to take the greener option when it is available – this means banning the dirty, old aircraft from our skies; getting the right tax regime in place to reward cleaner behaviour; being realistic about the value of aviation and resisting the temptation to advocate alternatives when no such alternatives exist.”

By Bev Fearis