What is a frequent flyer tax?
A frequent flyer tax (also known as a frequent flyer levy) is an additional tax on people who take a lot of flights (or the businesses that make them take the flights). This makes the flights more expensive, which discourages unnecessary travel.
A frequent flier tax wouldn’t have any effect on people taking an occasional holiday or making infrequent trips to visit loved ones in other countries (although we would encourage you to think about taking more sustainable holidays instead of flying – see our travel page for ideas).
How would a frequent flyer tax help reduce emissions?
Flying is expected to be the biggest source of the UK’s emissions by 2050 [1], and just 15% of people are responsible for 70% of UK flights [2]. A frequent flyer tax could therefore significantly reduce emissions by discouraging a small-ish number of people (or the people who tell them what to do) from flying as often.
An important point is that the frequent flyer tax would need to be levied on businesses, not just individuals. That’s to prevent companies from avoiding the tax by sending a different person each time.
What can I do to help get a frequent flier tax introduced?
Lobby your political representative to introduce a frequent flyer tax. While one letter won’t change anything, trust that your letter will eventually be one of thousands, evidence of a change in public opinion that they can’t ignore.
Here are some useful facts from GreenWorld, the Green Party’s membership publication:
- Introducing a frequent flyer tax would force frequent fliers to think more about their aerial carbon footprint and give them a financial incentive to lower it
- Aviation contributes to about 2.5 per cent of global carbon emissions; this rises to 5% when all greenhouse gases, not just carbon, are taken into account
- As more people reach the global middle class more people want to fly, so passenger numbers are expected to increase substantially in the coming decades
- In the UK, just 15% of people take 70% of flights.
1% of people in the UK are responsible for about 20% of flights!
Meanwhile, more than half of the people in the UK don’t fly at all - The Green Party’s proposals would allow people to take one return flight a year, with no extra tax, so people could go on annual holidays and visit any family they may have abroad
- Businesses and frequent fliers can and will have to adapt – trains can be used to get to Continental Europe instead of planes. Video conferencing can be done online. Longer stays at destinations can be arranged so multiple visits aren’t necessary
- When properly explained, the public should be fully behind a frequent flyer tax because voters are keen on policies which follow well-established climate science but don’t make them change their own behaviour!
How can I contact my MP or political representative?
In the UK, you can find out who your MP is and how to contact them on They Work For You.
In the US, you can find out who your representative in Congress is here.
[1] BBC News. 2019. Introduce frequent flyer levy to fight emissions, government told. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49808258> [Accessed 7 February 2021].
[2] Full Fact. 2016. Do 15% of people take 70% of flights?. [online] Available at: <https://fullfact.org/economy/do-15-people-take-70-flights/> [Accessed 7 February 2021].