In such a competitive industry, airline bosses of four major UK-based carriers have united and warned the government that the Air Passenger Duty (APD) will impact on employment and the economy as the airlines enter the new European Union-backed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Willie Walsh from BA, Carolyn McCall from easyJet, Michael O’Leary from Ryanair and Steve Ridgway from Virgin Atlantic jointly argued the injustice of APD when airlines are now forced to pay for carbon emissions under the new ETS scheme.

Initially conceived as the ‘green tax’, APD was introduced to bring environmental benefits. “The reality is that no APD revenue has ever been spent on environmental benefit,” Mr Walshe, Ms McCall, Mr O’Leary and Mr Ridgway jointly said.

“In contrast, ETS means that all future growth in European aviation will be carbon-neutral, and provides an incentive for further reductions in emissions.”

The group argued that government figures show in 2008, UK aviation was paying enough to cover its carbon emission costs yet the APD has more than doubled on many routes.

The group concluded by stating the APD must go as it makes it more difficult for airlines to invest in carbon-reducing technology. 

“APD is a self-defeating tax that pays for no environmental benefits, chokes off economic activity and cuts jobs. Only the UK holds back its own economic recovery with a tax of this nature,” they said.