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From global climate policy to helicopter noise complaints

3rd March, 2011

The past two weeks have seen us working on issues ranging from the global to the very local.

Tim has been working on international climate policy, helping to develop guidance for the UN’s ICAO on how countries can monitor their progress towards tackling aviation’s damage to the climate, while our new intern, Katie, has been researching the growth of India’s aviation sector, to inform forthcoming AEF work on how the industry’s fuel efficiency could improve.

With the current media focus on government taxes and spending, Nic has given several briefings and interviews on aviation taxation, highlighting the fact that while Air Passenger Duty increased at the end of last year, the industry continues to enjoy exemption from VAT and fuel tax.

We’ve also been continuing to work on noise issues from smaller aircraft, with Tim Thomas representing us at a meeting of the Helicopter Noise Coalition. The Coalition is considering how complaints reporting systems could be improved, and will be looking closely at how the problem of intrusive noise generated by helicopters is addressed in the government document due out in March, which will set out the background for a new UK aviation policy.