Countryside campaigners CPRE [1] expressed deep disappointment at today’s Government ‘progress report’ on aviation [2], following up on its 2003 Aviation White Paper. [3]

CPRE aviation campaigner Michael Nidd said: ‘This is no change from the White Paper’s “predict and provide” policy. It relies on technological improvements in as-yet-unbuilt aircraft to reduce noise, and on as-yet-unagreed carbon emissions trading to meet climate change targets.’

The Progress Report has not altered some of the White Paper’s fundamental flaws:

• it gives the green light to growing demand for leisure air travel [4] and ignores the massive £19 billion spending gap between inward and outward tourism [5];
• it relies on untested assumptions about economic growth which take no account of the annual £9.2 billion subsidy to the air transport industry from tax exemptions. There is no tax on plane fuel or VAT on tickets and aircraft parts;
• it supports the growth of international air freight for global trade, assuming that the EU emissions scheme will enable the industry to buy its way out of climate change impacts.

Noise is one of the major effects of aviation.  The Government maintains that more than double today’s level of air travel can be met by 2030 while reducing the number of people suffering from noise on the ground.

At least 90% of planes flying from the UK meet the most up to date international noise standard, and no further technological improvement is expected for more than a decade.  The Government simply cannot substantiate claims to reduce the number of people affected by noise.

Increased air transport growth will inevitably compromise enjoyment of our protected areas and the countryside as a whole. It will add to significant development pressures in over-heated areas such as the South East, and threaten the tranquillity of the countryside.

Michael Nidd concluded: ‘This is a huge missed opportunity for the Government to review basic assumptions about aviation on all fronts.  CPRE will continue to campaign for a root-and-branch review of national air transport policy.’

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NOTES FOR EDITORS
 

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Sir Max Hastings. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen.

2. Air Transport White Paper Progress Report 2006, Department for Transport.

3. The Future of Air Transport, Department for Transport, 2006.

4. Civil Aviation Authority Travel Survey 2006.

5. Overseas Travel and Tourism Business Monitor, Office of National Statistics, 2005.