Commercial flights could cease in less than 60 years
The government has been urged to use all the money raised in air passenger duty (APD) to find greener fuels following a warning that there is only enough oil left for another 50 to 60 years of flying.
While more than £2 billion a year is raised in APD, not all of this money is used to improve aviation and government critics claimed recently that a large chunk of the cash has been diverted to prop up Britain's ailing banks.
Speaking at a global travel show last week, several aviation experts called on ministers to invest the money into finding alternative fuels that would reduce aircraft carbon dioxide emissions.
Airlines around the world are working to find cleaner, greener fuels but there is a danger that without government support they will not be able to meet their targeted 50 per cent reduction in emissions.
Stansted Airport's head of environment Dr Andy Jefferson said: "My concern is that this money (from APD) is going into lots of different government pots – the banks too probably – and not being put back into helping the aviation industry find a solution to the CO2 emissions crisis."
Manchester Metropolitan University's professor of sustainable aviation Callum Thomas added: "If we do not solve the technology solution then we will not enjoy the global mobility that we do today.
"We have about 50 to 60 years left of useable oil on this planet. This is how long we have left to deal with this issue."
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