UK-based environmental lobbyists Stay Grounded has issued an open letter calling for governments to reject airlines bailouts and instead focus on workers’ rights and environmental issues related to the sector.
While Virgin Atlantic has requested an aid package so far, the UK finance minister has refused to intercede and instead told the industry to look for private sources of capital.
However, in an open letter, Stay Grounded made a series a demands related to working conditions, emissions and a move to permanently reduce the size of the global aviation sector.
“Bailouts must not allow the aviation sector to return to business as usual after Covid-19 has been defeated: any public money has to ensure that workers and the climate are put first,” said the letter.
According to Stay Grounded aviation already responsible for up to 8% of global climate impact, which it said was “mostly caused by a wealthy minority of frequent flyers, but the sector also assumes that it can continue growing. Enormous profits were made in the last decades, off the backs of low-paid workers and to the detriment of the climate.”
Stay Grounded also called for a tax on air kerosene and for frequent flyer incentive programmes to be replaced with what it termed, “fair and progressive levies” on regular air travellers.