Economics

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One reason why there is such fast growth is that air travel is under-priced. Unlike most other sectors of the economy, it pays virtually no tax; nor does it recompense society for the huge environmental impacts. This means that air travel competes unfairly with other sectors of the economy for resources and for the disposable income of travellers.

While aviation clearly has a role to play in a modern economy, it is by no means obvious that we need more and more air travel in order to sustain and grow the economy. A whole industry has developed which aims to convince the public and decision-makers of the huge economic importance of (more) air travel. See the ‘misleading cases’ section.