Speaking at Farnborough,  Mr Wilson said:

“This is such a huge international event, attracting a quarter of a million visitors, because the UK is recognised as a global hub for innovation, manufacturing and airborne communication. Government has to recognise that aviation is a massive British success story which needs to be nurtured, not punished”.

He said that policies on taxation and airport development sent out important messages about how the UK government regarded the aviation industry:

“I understand there are ten Ministers attending the Farnborough Show, which is as it should be.  But when they go back to their offices, they should remember that the success of the civil aviation industry is largely dependent on people being able to make use of its products”.

Mr Wilson said that Ministers should pay particular attention to the fantastic progress being made by British companies on the environmental efficiency of aircraft.

“This, along with international agreements, is the way to meet the challenges of carbon reduction rather than by punitive measures applying only to the UK which are largely pointless from an environmental perspective.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. FlyingMatters, the national campaign for flying, is a broad coalition of organisations that support sustainable growth in aviation, which includes trade unions, business, tourism groups, farmers in the developing world as well as the aviation industry (airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and air traffic control).  A full list of members is available at http://www.flyingmatters.org.uk/about
2. Rt Hon Brian Wilson is Chairman of FlyingMatters and stood down at the 2005 election after 18 years in Parliament. Between 1997-2005, he held five Ministerial posts, including Minister for Trade and Minister for Energy. A biography can be found here http://www.flyingmatters.org.uk/about

The Sunday Times reported this weekend that the partnership with Solena will lead to significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft.  The aviation industry has set out how biofuels will play a role in reducing emissions to 2000 levels in 2050.

The plant, due to open in 2014, will not only be CO2 neutral and self-sufficient, but will produce 16.4m gallons of fuel a year for British Airways. Moreover, it is estimated that the overall equivalent CO2 reduction as a result of the plant producing sustainable energy and fuel is approximately 550,000 tonnes per year.

The British Airways CEO also called for an end to APD when aviation enters the European Union emissions trading scheme in 2012.  Walsh also highlighted how the punitive rises in aviation taxes, which the government confirmed in the details of the last Budget, will hinder the efforts of the aviation industry to contribute to the economic recovery.

Michelle Di Leo, Director of FlyingMatters, pointed out that the rises from November are already “eye-watering”, but the details in the Budget document reveal that “even worse is to come” – the Treasury predict APD will contribute £3.8bn to the economy by 2015/16. That is before contributions through other taxes like National Insurance and Corporation Tax are taken into account.

According to figures released by the newly established Office for Budget Responsibility, Air Passenger Duty is expected to rake in £3.8bn by 2015/16. This is more than inheritance tax (£3.1bn) or the Bank Levy (£2.3bn).

Read FlyingMatters full reaction

Hidden hikes in flight tax will “strangle inward investment” – FlyingMatters

Reacting to the Chancellor’s decision to press ahead with November’s punitive hikes in flight tax of over 50 per cent, Brian Wilson, Chairman of FlyingMatters, the national campaign for flying, said:

“These hikes in flight tax will kill off any prospect of recovery in the aviation sector and strangle the flow of international visitors and foreign investment in the UK.  To do so at any time would be unwise; to do it now is an act of economic madness.”

The rises mean that from November a family of four travelling economy will pay up to £340 in tax to fly from the UK.   A family flying premium economy will pay up to an eye watering £680.  The decision to continue with the rises announced by the previous Labour Government were buried in budget forecasts contained in the main Budget document.

Brian Wilson added:

“Seven hundred thousand British jobs depend on aviation and it contributes more than £11 billion in GDP.  It is an industry to be nurtured, not decimated.

“Neither is there any environmental merit in hammering aviation in the UK.  Other countries will gratefully pick up the trade while Britain will find it increasingly difficult to compete, either as a hub or a destination”.

According to figures released by the newly established Office for Budget Responsibility, Air Passenger Duty is expected to rake in £3.8bn by 2015/16. This is more than inheritance tax (£3.1bn) or the Bank Levy (£2.3bn).

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. FlyingMatters, the national campaign for flying, is a broad coalition of organisations that support sustainable growth in aviation, which includes trade unions, business, tourism groups, farmers in the developing world as well as the aviation industry (airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and air traffic control).  A full list of members is available at http://www.flyingmatters.org.uk/about/
2. Rt Hon Brian Wilson is Chairman of FlyingMatters and stood down at the 2005 election after 18 years in Parliament. Between 1997-2005, he held five Ministerial posts, including Minister for Trade and Minister for Energy. A biography can be found here http://www.flyingmatters.org.uk/about
3. The full Budget document contains the references to the projected tax take from APD which includes (but does not mention) the rises planned for November.  This, and the Office for Budget Responsibility projections and  can be found on page 100 of the document via this link: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/junebudget_complete.pdf

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable, gave a major speech to the Cass Business School this week, and his comments make for interesting reading in the light of the concerns expressed by EADS. Cable made clear that his central task was “to make sure Britain is a place where enterprise and innovation are made easier…where people have the skills we need.”  As he explained how government would do this, Cable said that Britain must make it easy to invest from abroad. This echoes previous comments from Chancellor George Osborne, who stated that the UK is “open for business.”

Not only has the case not been made for high-speed rail, Monbiot writes, but the environmental benefits are unclear. As he says, “a switch from plane to train could even increase emissions.”

Brian Wilson, the former Energy Minister who chairs the pressure group Flying Matters, said: “There is talk of the Tory-LibDem coalition doubling taxation on aviation because it is one of the easier things for them to agree on.  They must be told that this is not a victimless offence but an absolutely crazy assault on one of Britain’s most important industrial sectors, both for manufacturing and services.

“Aviation is far too important to be treated as a bauble in coalition negotiations.  Seven hundred thousand British jobs depend on it and it contributes more than £11 billion in GDP.  It is an industry to be nurtured, not victimised.

“Neither is there any environmental merit in hammering aviation in the UK.  Other countries will gratefully pick up the trade while Britain will find it increasingly difficult to compete, either as a hub or a destination”.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. FlyingMatters, the national campaign for flying, is a broad coalition of organisations that support sustainable growth in aviation, which includes trade unions, business, tourism groups, farmers in the developing world as well as the aviation industry (airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and air traffic control).  A full list of members is available at http://www.flyingmatters.org.uk/about/
2. Rt Hon Brian Wilson is Chairman of FlyingMatters and stood down at the 2005 election after 18 years in Parliament. Between 1997-2005, he held five Ministerial posts, including Minister for Trade and Minister for Energy. A biography can be found here http://www.flyingmatters.org.uk/about/
3. Figures for jobs and economic contribution come from the OEF report, “The Economic Contribution of the Aviation Industry in the UK”