Ed Anderson, chairman of the Airport Operators Association rebuked comments by the UK transport secretary Philip Hammond that the aviation industry was "lightly taxed".
In a keynote speech to the association’s annual conference, Anderson said: “Aviation isn’t lightly taxed… Oxera found that we pay about the same proportion as any other sector into the exchequer before you count Air Passenger Duty. And, after you count APD, we pay much more than other sectors,” he said.
Anderson called for air passengers duty (APD) to be scrapped in two years when the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme comes into force in 2012.
“The Government should wind down APD in favour of EU ETS after 2012 allowing the industry to play its part in bringing growth to the economy and help achieve the Government’s tourism target,” he said.