Increase in aviation tax

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Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced an increase in the amount aviation will have to pay to become "greener".

The Government is currently consulting on ending the existing Air Passenger Duty (APD) airport departure tax system and replacing it with a per-flight tax in November 2009.

Mr Darling said aviation had to meet its environmental costs and that emissions from aircraft were forecast to continue to grow. He was therefore announcing that revenue from plane duty would be increased by 10% in the second year of the new per-flight tax regime.

The news was greeted with dismay by airlines. Paul Charles, communications director at Virgin Atlantic, said: "Air Passenger Duty will already raise around £3 billion for the Treasury this year, more than enough to cover the cost of emissions of the UK aviation industry."

"Further increases look as though they are merely propping up the Government's finances. The whole of Britain wants to know from the Chancellor which environmental projects are actually benefiting from these tax increases, as so far he has been noticeably quiet on the issue."

Greenpeace's senior transport campaigner Anita Goldsmith said: "Increasing the revenue from flight taxes is hypocritical posturing from a Chancellor who wants to see Heathrow and Stansted almost double in size."

"The modest carbon savings that might be achieved by bumping up fares by a few pounds will be wiped out in no time by a third runway at Heathrow."

"A truly green Chancellor would have told the aviation industry their tax subsidies worth billions are being cancelled and the money is being channelled into the railways. Instead Labour is still committed to more runways, more emissions and more climate change."

"Mr Darling also announced that Project Iris, an eye-recognition scheme whereby those wishing to beat the queues at passport control can volunteer to have their iris patterns registered and stored, would be extended."