“We are pleased that the government has confirmed its support for the need for additional capacity at Heathrow and recognises the significant economic and social benefits of aviation throughout the UK. It’s clear that High Speed Rail is complementary to air transport, not a substitute for it.

We share the Government’s disappointment at the lack of progress at Copenhagen of an international agreement for aviation. The UK industry, under the banner of Sustainable Aviation, has set out a road map demonstrating how it canreduce its emissions by 50% per passenger km by 2050 and is committed to delivering this.  In the meantime, continuing to seek an international approach for dealing with aviation’s global environmental impact remains a priority.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

1. FlyingMatters 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/

Over 60 % of those in the lowest social bands and two thirds of ethnic minorities said that the rises which came into force last November will impact on how often they visit their family abroad, compared to just over half of the general population (55%).

Those on the lowest incomes and ethnic minorities were also more likely to be fearful that the tax will affect how often their relatives come to visit them in Britain (61 % of people in the DE social group compared to 52 % of those in the AB category; and 70 % of ethnic minorities compared to 60% of the general population).

The research shows how the further away people’s relatives live the more likely the tax is to impact how often they and their families are able to visit each other.

The survey, carried out by Populus for FlyingMatters, the national campaign for flying, also reveals that two thirds of the population are concerned about the impact of further rises in the flight tax after those planned for November this year. This rises to three quarters of ethnic minorities.

A family of four travelling to the furthest destinations will pay £220 in Air Passenger Duty this year, compared to £160 prior to the rise. This will go up to £340 in November this year. This comes on top of the doubling of Air Passenger Duty in February 2007.

Over half of the population (56 %) in the seats polled have relatives abroad compared to nearly three quarters of ethnic minorities (74 %).

The survey shows how the poorest and ethnic minorities are feeling the rises in the general cost of living more than others. Just over half of people (53 %) in the constituencies polled feel that they are spending more in all areas of their lives compared to a year ago, whilst 57 % of ethnic minorities and 58 % of in one of the lowest income brackets agreed this was the case.

Nearly two thirds (65 %) of ethnic minorities were more likely than the general population (58 %) to say they would consider cutting back on other holidays so that they could still afford to see their family. They were also more likely to cut back on ‘little luxuries’ (62 % compared to 57 % of the general population) and to cut back on going out/socialising (61 % compared to 52 % of the general population).

Worryingly, 3 in 10 people (31 %) said they would cut back on groceries and more than a third said they would cut back on heating and home energy costs. Those on the lowest incomes and ethnic minorities were slightly more likely to say they would cut back on these things.

Just over half the population (56 %) said they would consider trying to find a higher paid job so that they could continue to afford to see their family abroad, whilst more than two thirds (68 %) of ethnic minorities said they would consider this. This was followed by working longer hours (59% of ethnic minorities and 51 % of the general population agreed they would consider this option).

Commenting on the findings, Brian Wilson, Chairman of FlyingMatters, said:

“In these constituencies well over half the population have relatives living abroad. The increases in flight tax will hit these people hard with poorer families and ethnic minorities suffering most. It is a deeply regressive tax.

“Many of these people are being taxed out of the right to visit their loved ones. This is deeply unfair and politically insensitive.”

Notes for Editors

The survey was commissioned by FlyingMatters and conducted by Populus (www.populus.co.uk). Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

Populus interviewed 3000 adults in Britain’s 10 most ethnically and religiously diverse Parliamentary Constituencies as defined following the 2007 Boundary Commission adjustments. Interviews were conducted by telephone between November 6th and 15th 2009.

The constituencies polled were:

Detailed results from the survey are available from FlyingMatters and will be published on the Populus website.

The UK levies a tax on all departing flights called Air Passenger Duty. This tax will be restructured and increased in November 2009 and again in November 2010. Destinations will be categorised into four geographical bands based on distance from London to the capital city of the destination country/territory. Each band will have two rates, one for standard class of travel and one for other classes of travel. For example, the furthest band D will go up from £40 currently to £55 in 2009 and £85 in 2010.

The full details are set out in a Treasury note which can be found here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2008/pbrn20.pdf

FlyingMatters, the national campaign for flying, is a broad coalition of organisations which support the sustainable growth of aviation including trade unions, business, tourism organisations and farmers in the developing world as well as airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and air traffic control. Further information and a full list of members can be found at www.flyingmatters.org.uk

Rt Hon Brian Wilson is a former Member of Parliament and Government Minister, having held several Ministerial posts during his time in Parliament. A short biography can be found at www.flyingmatters.org.uk/about/

The Committee on Climate Change have published their report on aviation emissions and growth in the UK.

The report concluded that the industry can still grow by 60% and meet the target of maintaining aviation’s CO2 emissions at 2005 levels by 2050.

The Financial Times reported that the Committee rejected suggestions that limits on carbon dioxide emissions would mean cuts in air travel.

Jill Brady, chair of Sustainable Aviation, the leading environmental body for the UK aviation industry, said: “The past 50 years have seen a 70 per cent improvement in aircraft fuel efficiency, in which the UK is a world leader, and technology will play a central role in achieving further substantial improvements over the next 40.”

The report was also covered by the Daily Telegraph, who noted that the Government accepted that the number of passengers could not be allowed to increase by more than 60 per cent if the aviation industry made greater progress on cutting aircraft emissions than currently predicted by the Committee.

“The Committee has clearly taken a cool-headed and balanced look at the evidence and reached the conclusion – like the vast majority of the flying public – that aviation has a vital economic and social role to play in the UK and internationally.“

“The Committee are right to say that global solutions represent the only realistic approach to dealing with the environmental impact of a mainly international activity.  It is crucial that Copenhagen is the start of a process for achieving an international approach.   Any approach must incentivise not threaten the technological improvements which cut emissions, many of which are already being rolled out or are in development.

“If we do not allow aviation in the UK to grow sensibly and sustainably we will face economic pain for no environmental gain as people simply opt to fly from Europe or elsewhere instead of the UK.“The Committee are right to say that the environmental costs of aviation will be covered by the European Emissions Trading Scheme but it is wrong to ignore the impact of domestic flight taxes on ordinary families.   The government’s own figures show that over a million people will be priced out of flying as a result of the APD tax hikes.  That burden will largely fall on ordinary families who only fly occasionally while the well off will continue to fly as much as they ever did.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The Transport Committee’s report into “The Future of Aviation” will be published on Monday 7th December 2009 at 00.01am

2. FlyingMatters is the national campaign for flying, a broad coalition of trade unions, business, tourism groups, farmers in the developing world, as well as the aviation industry, which supports sustainable growth in air transport.

A list of members can be found here: http://www.flyingmatters.org.uk/wp-content/themes/FlyingMatters/MembersListNov2009.pdf

3. Brian Wilson is the Chairman of FlyingMatters and stood down at the last election after 18 years in Parliament. Between 1997-2005, he held five Ministerial posts, including Minister for Trade and Minister for Energy.

The manifesto, drawn up by the Sustainable Aviation initiative, will be sent to the heads of state attending the Copenhagen climate change summit in early December.

As Sunday Telegraph Business Editor Kamal Ahmed observed, the fact that commercial rivals from across the aviation industry have united to call for a global sectoral approach at Copenhagen shows how seriously the industry takes the threat of climate change.

The Sunday Times reported how technological innovation is driving the industry’s efforts to be fully sustainable. British Airways and Rolls Royce have announced that they are joining forces to trial sustainable biofuels in 2010. This follows a successful trial conducted by KLM in Amsterdam last week.

As reported in the Evening Standard, visitor numbers to London increased by an impressive 6 per cent over the summer after new investment led by the Mayor of London.

The campaign to promote London as a tourist location also resulted in an increased average spend of £574 each, up from £540 in 2008.

FlyingMatters believes that a healthy flow of visitors creates jobs which will lead to greater prosperity, not only in London, but all across the regions where a lot of the UK’s attractions are situated.

We already know that voters see the steep increases in Air Passenger Duty as a stealth tax with wings and the impact the rises will have on visitor numbers to the UK.  In addition, the government has already admitted the holiday tax will price 1.5m travellers out of flying.

FlyingMatters Director Michelle Di Leo told the Daily Mail that at a time when the economy needs all the help it can get, the government is imposing a tax which undermines job creation in the tourism sector, prices ordinary families out of flying and produces absolutely no environmental benefit.

Alex Brummer has also noted that Darling has exposed the lack of environmental justification for the tax.

Dr. Williams made his comments in an interview with the Times, in which he also said that he tried to have a “flight-free year” in 2008, but didn’t manage to.

Although Dr. Williams said he wanted to avoid creating an “instant crisis” in developing countries whose economies rely on the ability to export fresh food to market, FlyingMatters Director Michelle Di Leo told The Times that “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”