Air travel policies review urged

A review was necessary as a series of events had changed the aviation world since the aviation White Paper was published in 2003, added the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC).

Airlines had been hit by rising fuel costs and there had been an economic downturn, the commission said. Also, there was a dispute about the economic costs and benefits of aviation as well as air travel's impact on the environment.

The SDC added that, despite a view in some quarters that opposing groups will never agree and that the Government should simply press ahead with decisions on airport expansion, a greater degree of consensus over evidence was far from unattainable.

SDC commissioner Hugh Raven said: "Air travel offers many benefits to society, but at a cost. Decisions about new facilities for flying - particularly new runways and terminals - must consider the full range of impacts.

"Our review of the data shows deep disagreement about even the fundamentals. We believe there is an overwhelming case for a full review of evidence before any long-term strategic decisions are made."

He continued: "By early next year, the Government aims to have announced a sustainable transport strategy, a national policy statement on airports, and decisions on Heathrow and other airports. Unless we take the time now to get the facts straight, these decisions will be made on shaky grounds. But if we take the time to get the data right now, and engage in the kind of proper national debate we have seen in other policy areas such as pensions and healthcare, we should be able to reach decisions in which we can all have confidence."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "This paper adds nothing to the debate on aviation and climate change. As we made clear in response to their earlier report, we fundamentally disagree with the assertions made by the SDC.

"The Government conducted a wide-ranging consultation on the future of aviation before publishing its White Paper in 2003 and again over the past few months to inform its policy on the future of Heathrow. We believe that the evidence underpinning our policies is based on sound principles and has been subjected to the most detailed analysis by experts in their field.

"We strongly believe the aviation industry must play its part in meeting its environmental costs which is why the Government championed the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. But given the Government has conducted a widespread debate over the last six years, deferring all decisions in favour of a further three year debate as the SDC suggesting is not a serious option. Several of the 'different perspectives' that the SDC claim exist are not disputing the evidence base but are simply a case of differences of opinion working from the same facts."