Mayor calls for frequent flyers to be taxed

BRISTOL Mayor Marvin Rees wants frequent flyers to be taxed in a bid to tackle global warning.

But he says stopping Bristol Airport’s expansion is to climate change what pulling down the Colston Statue is to racism - “hugely symbolic”, but not necessarily the solution.

Speaking after Bristol City Council formally expressed its opposition to plans to increase the airport’s passenger numbers by two million a year, the mayor ( pictured below) said more questions needed to be asked about regional airports.

Members passed a motion at a full council meeting saying the expansion was “incompatible” with the region’s carbon reduction targets and “must not go ahead”, although the Tory group branded it “an attack on jobs”.

The city mayor, who had previously said the proposed expansion would provide a “significant boost to the local economy”, said: “I will support them in raising their voices.

“They’re of the belief that restricting the airport is the pathway to tackling climate change.

“By tackling the contribution that aviation makes to climate change I support them in that.

“My position is that we need to be clear that our aim in tackling aviationdriven climate change is to reduce flights and air miles.

“My concern was there has not been enough spoken about that.”

He said one way of reducing air travel was by “taxing the tickets” of frequent flyers and he was advocating that.

“Aeroplanes won’t take off if people aren’t on them, so that means reducing demand,” Mr Rees said.

“My emphasis is simply about let’s go for the demand through prices. That’s the effective way.

“The laser-like emphasis needs to be on demand for tickets.

“But I will support any councillor who wants to write to the Planning Inspectorate to oppose it.”

Asked if he agreed the expansion is incompatible with carbon targets, he said: “I would agree with some qualifications on that because it’s the wrong point. It’s about demand, it’s about how many people are flying.

“If airport expansion is a driver of air miles then that’s true.

“If air miles are driven by factors other than regional airport capacity then there are clearly some other questions to be asked.

“But I understand a number of people are of the belief airports themselves are drivers of demand.”

He continued: “There are lots more questions to be asked about airports, and in particular regional airports, in how they interact with national airport hubs. “They need to be addressed following the motion.

“I recognise the symbolic role of opposing the airport expansion.

“It says we want something different, and that’s important.

“But we have to ask questions about the difference between the symbolic messaging that comes from an act and whether the act in and of itself will actually reduce air miles.

“I don’t just mean locally because aviation is an international industry and we don’t just operate locally, we operate as though it will impact on international business.

“That is my concern about that statement. It’s a difficult one because I get the symbolic meaning of it but there are a lot more questions to be asked.”

A local inquiry by a government planning inspector to determine the appeal is set to start in July 2021.