Government supports ‘guilt-free’ flying, says Grant Shapps

Air travel is not ‘the ultimate evil’, says transport secretary

Heathrow’s chief executive is looking to ‘pent-up demand’ being unleashed (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Wire)

The government believes people should travel “guilt-free” as air travel is not “the ultimate evil”, the transport secretary has said.

As COP26 draws to a close, Grant Shapps told The Telegraph that Brits don’t need to “stay home” to meet the UK’s ambitious climate commitments.

“I believe, as transport secretary, that we can get to guilt-free travel in this country,” he said.

“There's been an idea that's been allowed to percolate that somehow if we're going to meet all these different carbon commitments we are going to need to get to the point where we all stay home, that travel is somehow something which attracts great guilt.

“It gets worse the further you travel, so flying is, of course, the ultimate evil, as it's presented, and that's just not what we believe as the British government.”

He added: “There are some changes in the way we live our lives. One of those changes should not be the inability to go and visit your friends and family and do business.”

The government has so far staunchly refused to concede that any reduction in flights will be necessary in order to limit global warming to 1.5-2C.

It follows the latest Budget, in which the chancellor announced that Air Passenger Duty (APD), the tax on UK flights, would be cut for domestic routes from April 2023 – a move that was roundly criticised by climate campaigners.

It’s at odds with new research that suggests the British public is in favour of aviation reform when it comes to curbing domestic flights.

In a poll of 2,000 Brits commissioned by climate charity Possible, 58 per cent said they would support increasing tax on domestic flights and using the money to fund green transport alternatives.

Meanwhile, 54 per cent of people supported a ban on domestic flights where the journey could reasonably be completed by train instead.

Possible also revealed that 90 per cent of domestic flights were taken by just 2 per cent of English flyers in 2019, based on analysis of government data.