An alternative approach to airport expansion
Posted by DavidM in Transport | 6 June 2007
A recurring story in the news is the clash of the economic drive to expand our airports and the environmental desire to reduce greenhouse gases.
Flying represents a small but significant proportion of the UK's and the world's emissions, is growing fast and has a greater than normal impact as the emissions occur high in the atmosphere.
Yet governments are under pressure from industry and consumers to continually expand airports to meet demand. Air travel capacity is considered to be a key building block in a growth economy.
So how do you reconcile these conflicts?
The two standard approaches are to either increase taxes on air travel to reduce demand - especially on the budget airlines - or limit the number of take-off and landing slots. Either way the cost to the consumer rises without really incentivising the industry.
In the first instance, taxes put up ticket prices and the government pockets the extra revenue. In the second, limiting slots means airlines will raise prices to bring demand into line with supply. So the consumer pays more and the extra funds go to the providers. Either way, there is no incentive to use cleaner, more efficient aircraft.
But how about a third way? It's not beyond us to calculate the total greenhouse emissions from each airport. So let's say Heathrow has a maximum limit of it's 2006 emissions levels and as long as it stays within that limit it can have as many take-off and landing slots as it likes.
Airline companies and the airports alike would be incentivised to reduce the emmissions per flight to allow them to make more trips. In fact, the cleanest and most efficient airlines will benefit most as the airports prioritise them for new slots.
This provides a clear and simple framework, allows airlines to conduct their business while incentivising them to be environmentally better and doesn't need to hit the consumers' pocket so hard.
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Government options for managing air travel and the environment consist of passenger taxes or limiting flight slots. Both result in higher costs to the consumer, potential damage to the economy and no real incentive to invest in cleaner aircraft.
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Tracked on June 11, 2007 7:26 AM
