Rich minority “fuelling air travel boom"

A rich minority taking several holidays each year is responsible for the recent boom in air travel, according to figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). According to a report in The Times, despite the huge array of cheap flight on offer, people in social groups D and E took only six per cent of UK flights last year – despite making up 27 per cent of the population. At the other end of the scale, the newspaper reports, groups A and B took 40 per cent of flights despite representing just 24 per cent of the population. Some 180,000 interviews carried out at airports across the country showed that, even at the popular no-frills hub of Stansted airport, the average salary of UK air passengers was £47,000 a year. EasyJet reportedly backed the findings, saying that its own growth was being helped by “people with very high disposable incomes booking dozens of flights a year”. John Stewart, of the group ClearSkies, which campaigns against airport expansion, is quoted as saying: “The absence of any tax on aviation fuel or VAT on air tickets amounts to a £9 billion subsidy for the better-off to enjoy their jet-setting lifestyle.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd