IATA boss slams UK Airport Passenger Duty rise

Latest figures from IATA (International Air Transport Association) show a marginal increase in air traffic numbers for September 2008 compared with the same period last year, but IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani has been quick to point out that the improvements are in fact a sign of just how week trade was a year ago.

He has cautioned against assuming the increase in passenger numbers is a sign of recovery, saying that while the worst may be over in terms of demand, yields are still very low and costs are steadily rising.

Bisignani has said that with the fragile business environment, the aviation industry continues to languish in the red. Moreover, he criticised the decision made by some governments, in particular the UK government, to increase airport duty taxes for passengers to reduce carbon emissions.

He points out that making travel more expensive will not help the aviation industry–which is already struggling in the current economic climate.

Bisignani also says that the British government’s decision to raise the APD (air Passenger Duty) will do little to curb emissions. Instead, says the IATA boss, the government should be supporting the aviation industry’s ambitions to genuinely cut carbon emissions by improving fuel efficiency, stabilising emissions to a point where it achieves a carbon neutral growth, and cutting emissions significantly in the long run.

The industry, in a recent pact to help cut emissions and fight climate change, has announced ambitious goals for the next few years. It wants to improve fuel efficiency by a 1.5% average rate every year until 2020 and cut net emissions by as much as half by the year 2050.