UK Adds Air Tax to Achieve Green Travel Goals

According to the UK government, the green travel agenda inspired the rise in Air Passenger Duty (APD).  The air tax was put into effect on November 1st, much to the dismay of many passengers, airlines and travel companies.

The tax is divide into different bands. Band A comprises destinations less up to 2,000 miles from London, Band B: 2,001 - 4,000 miles, Band C: 4,0001-6,000 miles, and Band D: more than 6,000 miles. So, travelers flying to the Caribbean will pay the taxes required for Band C, £75 per person (up from £50). Anyone going to Australia will pay the charges for Band D, £85 per person, which means that a family of four would pay £340 in taxes (£120 more than before). Seats in premium class, however, cost more than double that. This is a sliding-scale tax on the "far traveling"; the APD has only gone up 9% for short distance travel, and 55% for long distance travel.

Of course, green travel isn't exactly equivalent to "short distance flights". Aviation produces 3% of the earth's total greenhouse gas emissions (three times the amount of cars). True, longer flights are more troublesome, but shouldn't short-distance travelers be encouraged to take the chunnel if it's an option? Easyjet declared that the APD was a "bad environmental tax" because the level of tax isn't linked to emissions. Carolyn McCal of easyJet suggested that the "UK passengers and the environment would be better off if the tax was shifted from per person to a per plane tax."

Should the UK be taxing the travelers or the airlines? Some of the airlines have greener planes, yet they aren't being rewarded. And, of course, some of the airlines don't dwell on green travel concerns in the least, and they aren't paying to offset their carbon impact. Air travel is, indeed, bad for the environment, so perhaps travelers should be willing to pay additional taxes. However, the travelers can empty their pockets for the green tax, but how's that actually changing the environment? Unless, of course, they stop traveling.

Julie Southern, Virgin Atlantic's chief commercial officer said: "Holidays are an essential part of our lives and are valued even more in these difficult times. With passengers now being asked to pay up to 10 times more tax since the air duty's introduction, the annual family holiday will become unaffordable for many." If less people travel, less airplanes will fly, and green travel initiatives (theoretically) win a few points. However, is that a sustainable, long term solution for travel in our world? Given population growth, globalization, and the fact that travel is… umm, fun, perhaps the UK government should be pushing airlines to use alternative fuels rather than discouraging vacationers?

Photo Credit: Flickr