Airlines should provide passengers with free train tickets for travel to airports in a bid to combat carbon emissions from cars.
The call came as part of a 10-point ‘Fewer Flights Charter’ published by a lobby group.
The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) wants the government and airlines to do more to reduce aviation’s growing carbon emissions by giving passengers realistic journey times when booking domestic flights.
The transport charity says “realistic journey times” should be provided by airlines, including airport processing times, together with better information about carbon emissions so that travellers can make more informed choices when flying internally.
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Free train tickets would encourage international passengers to “ditch the car” when travelling to the airport.
Reforms to aviation taxation is also needed to reduce the overall number of domestic and private flights with a reversal of the recent 50% cut in Air Passenger Duty on domestic flights.
The CBT wants to see the industry help give people greener, more sustainable transport options when travelling within the UK, and “immediately start to reduce carbon emissions from flying without waiting for new technologies to take effect”.
External affairs director Norman Baker said: “The government’s strategy for achieving net zero aviation relies on technological advancements which are decades away when we need to cut carbon emissions now.
“The only way to do that for fewer flights to operate and our ten-point charter offers a way to immediately reduce the aviation sector’s impact on the climate whilst simultaneously boosting the rail market.”
The CBT’s Fewer Flights Charter:
- Require airlines to give passengers realistic travelling times for domestic flights
- Publish carbon emissions for domestic flights and the equivalent rail option
- Require airlines to offer free rail tickets to the airport for passengers taking international flights
- Introduce a domestic flight reduction target
- Introduce a tax on domestic aviation fuel
- Reverse the cut in Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights
- Introduce a new rate of Air Passenger Duty for all private jet passengers
- Apply VAT to every private jet flight
- Penalise airlines for flying empty aircraft unnecessarily
- Invest in more railway lines and stations and improve fares and ticketing
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