Airports back The Journal's tax campaign

Sep 22 2009 by Adam Jupp, The Journal

European opt outs mean we are less competitive

Neil Pakey, deputy chief executive of Peel Airports

FOR us, this isn’t just an aviation issue, it’s about UK competitiveness.

It is much more a case of the UK having to take responsibility for its own economy and helping us grow.

There have been two key developments around this issue, the first of which was Holland and Greece opting out of this type of tax.

So, instead of penalising the user, they are encouraging aviation development because it is good for jobs and the economy and that has made them more competitive than the UK.

Up until now, we have had this penalty and have tried to live with it, but we do find it is a millstone around our ankles when we are trying to compete against other European airports because we are not on a level playing field.

So, the news that the Emission Trading Scheme was coming was welcomed because, at last, there was one system that was going to create a level playing field.

But I have not had any clear message that the UK is going to be saying there is no need for APD, so we are left wondering why would a passenger want to fly once and pay two taxes?

We are not saying aviation shouldn’t pay its environmental costs but it should be on a like-by-like basis, with at least Europe and maybe the rest of the world.

For a country to price airlines out of the market doesn’t necessarily do anything for the environment because we all share the same sky and they will just locate in a different country and the flights will go out from there instead.