Archived press release

Go to our press releases area for our current press releases.

Foe dismisses 'one-sided' aviation industry report

10 November 1999

Friends of the Earth today dismissed as “hopelessly one-sided” an aviation industry-funded report which claims to 'reveal the extent and detail of the relationship between the aviation industry and UK economic performance'.

Friends of the Earth revealed that:

* the report isn't independent. It was produced 'with the co-operation and support' of the aviation industry. The Foreword was written by the Chief Executives of the Airport Operators' Association and British Air Transport Association.
* the report trumpets aviation's contribution to UK exports but ignores its contribution to imports from other countries.
* the report credits aviation as a factor in the rapid growth of sectors such as IT,pharmaceuticals and finance, but doesn't blame it for the decline in sectors such as precision and optical instruments (which also make proportionally high use of air travel).
* the report admits that aviation enables UK companies to invest abroad rather than at home
* the sections of the report that FOE has obtained completely ignore the effect of aviation on tourism (UK citizens spend far more abroad than foreign tourists spend in the UK) [1]
* the report doesn't quantify the costs to the UK economy of aviation's contribution to global warming or of lost productivity due to aircraft noise and pollution.

Roger Higman, Senior Transport Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:

“Aviation is not the unmixed blessing this hopelessly one-sided report pretends.It can just as easily undermine UK industry by encouraging imports as boost it by encouraging exports. Airborne tourism can just as easily encourage UK citizens to spend money abroad as encourage foreign tourists to come to the UK. Above all, civil aviation is the fastest growing human contribution to dangerous climate change. There's certainly room for intelligent debate about the contribution that aviation makes to our economy and society, and about the damage it does at the same time. But this report doesn't qualify.”
Friends of the Earth wants the Government to carry out its own assessment of aviation's contribution to the economy, using the transport advisors that it recently used to look at the impact of road traffic on the economy [2].

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Since the late 1980s, UK tourists travelling abroad have spent more than foreign tourists holidaying in the UK. By 1994, this deficit had risen to £3 billion.

[2] In August 1999, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions published 'Transport and the Economy' - a report of the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment(SACTRA).

This showed that transport improvements can be good or bad for the economy depending on circumstances: “if local prices are in general too high due to monopoly power, then a transport improvement, if it successfully opened the area to external competition, could lead to additional benefits for the economy. Conversely, if transport prices are currently too low due to uncharged congestion or environmental effects, then a transport improvement could lead to additional costs to the economy”.

Flight ticket prices are currently low, in part because airlines do not pay any duty or VAT on the fuel they use, unlike other forms of transport.

SACTRA also noted that: “there is no guarantee that transport improvements will benefit the local and regional economy at only one end of the route - roads operate in two directions, and in some circumstances the benefits will accrue to other competing, regions”.

The same could be said of air travel services.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust

Last modified: Jul 2008