EU 'pollution permits' could add £55 to cost of air tickets

Ticket prices for long-haul flights could go up by as much as £55 under proposals to cut pollution being considered by the European Commission.

A report for the environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas, delivered last month by consultants CE Delft, recommends that the European Union's emissions trading system should be extended to aviation.

Mr Dimas is considering the report and is expected to present proposals next month.

Well-placed sources say he will propose that airlines purchase "pollution permits" that help pay for the CO₂, nitrates, water vapours and soot created by every flight.

The CE Delft report claims the extra cost to airlines would be the equivalent of no more than €9 (£6) per air ticket. However, the Swiss environmental group Myclimate has predicted that the extra cost could be $20 (£11) for a short-haul flight within Europe and as much as $100 for a long haul flight.

Globally, airlines are estimated to produce more than 4 per cent of all greenhouse gases and pollution produced by the industry could be costing as much as £30bn a year.

The proposals are likely to prompt a massive row, not only between Mr Dimas and airlines opposed to the changes, but also between Brussels and the US, which is opposed to unilateral action by Europe.

The airlines have mixed feelings about the change. Some, including British Airways and SAS, have been participating in trials of the planned system and believe they can absorb the changes. Others, notably the low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet, are strongly opposed.

The European Low Fares Airlines Association has already published a paper opposing any changes coming out of Brussels and is planning a stronger response in coming weeks.

The CE Delft report claims there is no legal reason why the EC cannot unilaterally extend emissions trading to cover flights taking off and landing at airports within the European Union.

However, US and other international airlines disagree and could mount a legal fight against Brussels. They argue that the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is working on a global system for emissions permits, and it would be a breach of international law for the EU to launch its own system first.

Mr Dimas, though, is believed to be frustrated by the slow progress of the Montreal-based ICAO.