Industry pressure group Flying Matters welcomed remarks by the secretary of state for energy and climate change Ed Miliband suggesting the government will not curb mass air travel, saying his views undermine the case for increasing Air Passenger Duty (APD).
Miliband will publish a white paper on climate change on July 15, laying out government plans for an 80% reduction in UK carbon-dioxide emissions by 2050.
However, the target for aviation emissions is lower – the aim being a reduction to the level of 2005 by 2050 – although that would still require substantial effort, given projected levels of growth.
Miliband told the Guardian: “If you made 80% cuts across the board, as some people call for on aviation, you would go back to 1974 levels of flying. People in my constituency have benefited from foreign travel which, 40 years ago, the middle classes took for granted.”
The secretary of state is MP for Doncaster North, where a former RAF base is now the site of Doncaster Sheffield airport.
Flying Matters chairman and former Labour minister Brian Wilson said: “This is a sensible matter of policy by Miliband that should be matched by his Treasury colleagues who are promoting punitive increases in the rate of APD. This can only lead to the outcome Mr Miliband deplores.”
Wilson also hit out at Plane Stupid, a group campaigning against aviation expansion, and comments posted on its website in support of vandalising billboard adverts for flights.
“Law-abiding families who fly occasionally will be shocked by the extreme nature of these calls,” Wilson said.
Flying Matters represents a cross-industry coalition that includes ABTA, British Airways, airport operator BAA and trade unions.