Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
In respect of their air transport consultation document published on 23 July, what would be the reduction in demand for air transport in the United Kingdom if aviation fuel were subject to the same rates of duty and tax as motor vehicle fuel. [HL5603]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonThe Government are committed to ensuring that the aviation industry meets its environmental costs. Since civil aviation is a international industry, the Government's approach is to support multilateral action through ICAO to end the exception from tax for international aviation fuel. Unilateral action would create market distortions, such as tankering of extra fuel from abroad to avoid tax, and would have limited environmental benefits. In the consultation document,The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East, it is estimated that policies to meet the contribution of aircraft emissions towards climate change would reduce demand by around 10 per cent.