Air fares from Britain could soar under measures to counter the impact of the expansion of Heathrow Airport.
The UK Climate Change Committee says under a ‘polluter pays principle’ ticket prices could increase by around GBP150 for a return trip to Alicante in Spain and GBP400 for a return trip to New York by 2050. The charges would be similar to fuel duty on petrol and diesel.
The study finds that about 62% of aviation emissions are from long-haul international flights, despite these making up 23% of passengers.
About half of aviation emissions in 2025 resulted from use of LHR, where a third runway and more infrastructure are planned. In 2025, aviation made up 9% of total UK emissions based on provisional estimates, up from 3% in 1990.
. . . Frequent Flyers
Relatively small numbers of people make up a large proportion of the total of flights abroad because they are frequent flyers; 48% of the UK population did not fly abroad in a given year.
A third of all flights overseas were taken by the 5% of people who flew five or more times.
The proposals will be weighed as the UK government considers LHR expansion. “By acting now, costs can be phased in gradually, avoiding disruption and sudden jumps in ticket prices. This could also generate revenues that can support early-stage technology development, as well as managing demand growth,” the committee says.
