UK public widely in favour of reforms to domestic aviation
New analysis of figures from the Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey 2019 by climate charity Possible shows that just two percent of the population take 90 percent of all domestic flights by English residents in Great Britain, with data from the Civil Aviation Authority’s 2018 passenger survey suggesting that the typical domestic flier earns twice the national average salary. By contrast, around nine in ten people never take any domestic flights at all.
Accompanying these new findings are the results from polling commissioned by Possible and conducted in the first week of Cop26, which show that the British public widely supports reform of domestic aviation in the UK to protect the climate. The public were asked for their thoughts on two topics: whether tax should be increased for domestic flights and the funds used to improve green transport options in the UK, and whether domestic flights should be banned for journeys which could be made by train in under four hours. The results showed clear support from the UK public for reducing domestic flights to help tackle the climate crisis, with 58 percent in favour of increasing tax on domestic flights and 54 percent in favour of ending shorter domestic flights. Only 15 percent opposed the former and 18 percent the latter.
The figures follow the chancellor’s recent announcement of cuts to Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights in the UK - a move which attracted widespread criticism as it was announced just days before the commencement of Cop26. The reason given in the budget was that the cut to Air Passenger Duty was to assist in the aim of creating a “better-connected United Kingdom”.
However, this attempt to justify the tax cuts on domestic flights cuts on the grounds of improving connectivity within the UK does not necessarily stack up, as flights to the Scottish Highlands and Islands were already exempt from Air Passenger Duty. Civil Aviation Authority statistics show that the two busiest domestic journeys in the past decade are London to Glasgow and London to Edinburgh. Both these routes are well-served by rail, including a new affordable train service connecting London to Edinburgh, which was recently found to be just as fast as flying for the overall journey. Only 28.5% of passenger journeys on the busiest 15 domestic flight routes within the UK are over sea and could not be replaced by a train.
Last year France introduced a world-leading ban on flights which could be replaced by a 150-minute train journey. Robust investment in the UK’s low-carbon transport network would allow the UK to follow this pathway to protect the climate while providing reliable, affordable transport for all.
Leo Murray, Director of Innovation at climate charity Possible, said:
“We warned the government that cutting Air Passenger Duty on domestic flights while hosting a crucial climate conference would go down like a lead balloon. This new analysis shows that this tax cut makes even less sense than first feared. Effectively all of the benefits will go to reward the tiny number of wealthy households responsible for almost all of the environmental damage from domestic flights, incentivising them to fly even more often, mostly on routes that could easily be travelled by train.”
Alethea Warrington, campaigner at climate charity Possible, said:
“Our new polling finds that once again the British public are far ahead of the government when it comes to their appetite for meaningful climate action. What most of us need and want is an affordable, reliable train service so we can travel without harming the climate. The government should begin phasing out domestic flights for journeys which can be made by train, and use a frequent flyer levy to raise money to support green transport instead.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For the data and polling documents please click HERE.
For media enquiries and further information please contact press@wearepossible.org or 07806431577.
Leo Murray, Director of Innovation at climate charity Possible, is available for comment. Please contact press@wearepossible.org for more information.
Possible is a UK based charity that brings people together to take positive, practical action on climate change. Combining individual and local actions with larger systemic change, we connect people with each other, and communities with ways to address the climate crisis. wearepossible.org.
Possible changed its name from 10:10 Climate Action on 10th October 2019.
Polling was conducted by NEON. NEON is a network of over 650 UK organisers from different trade unions, grassroots groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), faith-based campaigns, political parties, civil society groups and movements from across the country.