EMISSIONS tax proposals have been branded unimaginative, damaging and a stealthy way for the UK to tax Channel Islanders. Aurigny managing director Malcolm Hart said that the Commons Environmental Audit Committee had ignored obvious solutions – such as technological improvements or including aviation in the EU emissions trading scheme.

It has instead proposed an emissions tax that would see passengers once again facing a hike in airfares.

‘The aircraft we fly have relatively low CO2 emissions so any tax would not hit us as badly as other airlines. This aside, we are strongly against any extra levels of taxation because it would be another unwelcome hit for passengers,’ he said.

Mr Hart was sceptical that the levy would achieve anything other than putting money into government coffers.

‘Taxing people off planes would hit poorer passengers and stop them from travelling. Aviation is the lifeline for Guernsey’s economy and the island heavily relies on Aurigny’s air links for its competitiveness.

‘If accepted, these proposals will have negative implications for us and simply be a sneaky way for the UK Government to tax Channel Islanders,’ he said.

Chief commercial officer Mike Rutter said that Flybe was committed to delivering sustainable aviation with environmentally friendly aircraft.

But he rejected further discrimination against travellers, the air industry and the UK regions.

‘Flybe fully supports and has actively lobbied for the introduction of a fair eco-labelling scheme which is the most appropriate way to tackle these issues without unfairly increasing flight costs for consumers.

‘The introduction of the existing UK air passenger duty, which was predicated on the environment, has resulted in no funds raised being channelled towards the environment. All proceeds have, rather, accrued directly to the Treasury,’ he said.

Mr Rutter said that the company acknowledged the contribution of aviation to greenhouse gases, though these represented only 3% of total EU emissions. Road transport accounts for 20%.

‘To that end Flybe has recently invested $1.5bn on one of the most environmentally friendly and youngest fleet of aircraft in the world as it believes the only solution to the issue is through improvement in aircraft technology and the provision of information to consumers to allow them to make informed choices,’ he said.

Paul Sabin, managing director of Blue Islands, said the airlines had little influence on any decision about emissions tax.

‘There’s little an airline can do about it. We would just have to respond to it.

‘If the consumer is happy to bear that cost then we have no problem with it.

‘There’s a very naive appreciation of this: everybody will vote in tax on fuel but everybody will have to pay that extra,’ he said.

‘It’s extremely complex because you cannot do it in isolation. You can’t just do it in the UK, for example.

‘I can see an argument for it but I think there will be a long debate before it comes in. It has to be global.’