Better Transport

30 October: The airline industry and Daily Telegraph are calling for air passenger duty to be scrapped. Their arguments are unlikely to take off.

This Sunday, plane tickets will get more expensive, thanks to changes in air passenger duty. Not very expensive, mind: the cost of a short-haul economy seat will rise by one pound. A long-haul 'premium' ticket, like business or first class, will increase by £30, from £80 to £110. It's hardly going to break the bank.

Earlier this month we revealed how the aviation industry is a massive tax dodger avoiding £10 billion in tax by being exempt from VAT and fuel duty. Paying £2 billion in APD is the least it could do, given that aviation is 13% of our climate impact.

Sure, there are some flaws in the way APD works, but the Telegraph's 10 reasons to scrap the tax are pretty flimsy. Sure, tt's crazy that freight and private jets are exempt, and I'm not sure that the Carribean and Egypt are in the right bands. But scrapping the whole system because of a few quirks? That's more than throwing the baby out with the bathwater: it's demolishing the whole bathroom as well.