The number of flights is set to increase at a time when we all know that the number of flights should be decreasing. But how can we decrease the number of flights being taken? First off, all airport expansion should be halted to stop the increase in flights. Beyond that we have to get a bit radical.
| “Our analysis of the “masterplans” for 21 of the country’s biggest airports show they intend to add 192 million passengers to the 286 million that already use their terminals over the next 10-20 years. That’s a growth of 67%.” – Sky News An analysis in 2014 found that just 15% of adults in Great Britain accounted for 70% of the flights taken. Those who take 3 or more flights per year will be the ones who make the biggest difference by cutting back. – New Scientist 26/10/19 |
We can’t, and probably shouldn’t, stop all flights. Families are now separated by many miles, my sister lives in New York and a few years ago I lived in New Zealand. Without flights none of us would ever have spent time with each other. The invention of video calling has been fantastic but it’s not the same as spending a full day with a family member. You could go by boat, but that’s really not feasible if you have work because it takes so long to get anywhere. I think I’ve established that flying cannot feasibly end altogether but it’s certainly possible to reduce the overall number of flights being taken.
I’ve come up with a pretty radical idea. One that lots of people would hate but an idea that actually wouldn’t affect the majority of people by very much at all.
Reducing Flights – Can It Be Done?
My idea is simply that airlines carry on selling the number of seats they do now at the same prices. But each UK resident is allowed only one return flight per year at that price (the baseline price). Their second return flight would cost one and half times the baseline price. The third would be two times the baseline price and so on.
This would certainly make people think twice about whether their flight was actually necessary but still gives people the opportunity to fly abroad at least once a year for a holiday without any financial penalty. The airlines wouldn’t make any additional money as the ‘flight tax’, I suppose you could call it, would go straight to native tree planting schemes around the UK and also to the countries where we’re flying to.
The people this would effect most are the businessmen and celebrities who fly around the world for meetings or even within the UK on domestic flights. They can probably afford to take so many flights even at an increased cost but they also might find that a skype call would be just as beneficial. A train trip would also be worth considering instead of a domestic flight.
Carbon Offsetting
If they are still taking just as many flights at least some of their carbon footprint would be offset by planting numerous native trees. Planting trees is not just beneficial for carbon capture but also for native wildlife and probably for mental well being as well. Paying a carbon offset can no longer be a voluntary option.
I believe that people flying into the UK more than once a year should also be charged a flight tax, but possibly at a slightly lower rate as we still rely on tourism a fair bit in this country.
I’m not entirely sure how this would work in practise but I can’t see it being beyond our capabilities to have a central database which tracks each passport and how many times they’re flying in and out of airports in the UK. I think I would still suffer from flygskam (flight shame) any time I flew but I’d feel a lot happier knowing that those responsible for taking more flights than the rest of us would be the ones paying the higher price and the ones responsible for paying for reforestation.
I think the result of the flight tax would not just be to increase the number of trees being planted by a massive amount (and it should be in addition to any other tree planting schemes) but the number of flights being taken by the 70% should dramatically decrease. Overall I could see fewer flights leaving and arriving in the UK due to the higher cost of flying. In an ideal world this flight tax would be agreed by all countries around the world at the same time otherwise it would probably just mean some European airports would see an increase in flights.
Reducing Flights – My Proposal
Every person can fly out of the UK once a year on the baseline price. That includes all flights international or domestic and anyone who owns a private jet.
To make sure people don’t try to keep on taking one way flights in and out of the country, these should be tracked as well. So basically if you fly out of the country more than once a year on a one way ticket, you’d be charged a higher ticket price. But in essence the flight taxes below are aimed at one return flight per year.
Every 5th return flight the penalty amount increases.
Departing the UK proposed flight tax rates:
- 1st flight is baseline price.
- 2nd flight is baseline price x 1.5.
- 3rd flight is baseline x 2.
- 4th flight is 2.5 times the baseline price.
- 5th flight is 4.
- 6th flight is 5.
- 7th flight is 6.
- 8th flight is 7.
- 9th flight is 8.
- 10th flight is 10.
- 11th flight is 12.
- 12th flight is 14.
- 13th flight is 16.
- 14th flight is 18.
- 15th flight is 21.
- 16th flight is 23.
- 17th flight is 26.
- 18th flight is 29.
- 19th flight is 31.
- 20th flight is 35 times the baseline price (that’s far too many flights a year for one person but think how many trees would be planted!).
The more you fly the more trees your money will plant. There comes a point though that even the richest people would think twice about taking so many flights when it will start to cost them so much money.
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