**The frequent flyer tax would be make flying more expensive for those who fly often and more accessible for low income people** - The global aviation industry is responsible for [around 3.5% of human induced climate change](https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation) - [1% of English residents take one-fifth of overseas flights and 10% most frequent flyers took more than half of flights abroad in 2018](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/25/1-of-english-residents-take-one-fifth-of-overseas-flights-survey-shows) - The[frequent flier tax](https://stay-grounded.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/progressive-ticket-tax-frequent-flyer-levy.pdf) would make flying more expensive for frequent fliers, which would hopefully discourage people from frequently flying and raising money for climate action and mitigation of flying. It would also make flying more accessible for lower income people who may not be able to afford to travel. [This is a positive as travel has huge benefits and everyone should be able to do it, not just the few.](https://www.nbcnews.com/better/wellness/5-scientifically-proven-health-benefits-traveling-abroad-n759631) - It is important to point out it is also not at all solely responsible for climate change and emissions from companies, governments and other sectors must also be considered - It is important to acknowledge that air travel should be a last resort and more eco-friendly methods such as train eg. Eurostar and interrail, bus, coach should be promoted and invested in through subsidisation

**Whilst it is important to encourage the consumer to engage in more sustainable travel practices, the most attention should be placed on the corporates.** In the UK, [approximately 70%](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56582094) of flights are made by the wealthiest 15% of the population. This trend is echoed across the world. For example, [22%](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56582094) of the Canadian population take up 73% of flights, and [just 1%](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56582094) of Indian households take up 45% of flights. Consequently, imposing a frequent flyer tax will most likely have the effect of encouraging people to travel less, thus reducing their carbon footprint and protecting the environment. However, there are also [some potential problems](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56582094) associated with such a scheme, namely: • Several people across the world have multiple passports, which may enable them to get around certain rules; • Data processing and privacy concerns, as either the government, the aviation service or other third-party organisations may be given access to your flight history; • Concerns regarding the complexity of administration of the tax. More significantly, the frequent flyer tax pulls the focus away from the aviation industry itself which actively encourages its customers to fly more often through its [air miles scheme](https://www.skyclub.com/blog/collecting-air-miles-in-the-uk). Therefore, whilst it is necessary to find ways to encourage the consumer to travel less, actions taken by the corporates themselves also need to be reviewed.

**Companies and billionaires can afford to fly excessively therefore they can afford to pay a tax for their part in further damaging the environment.** This depends on what you define as a ‘frequent flyer’. I think that a frequent flyer tax should be introduced to deter companies and individuals from flying unnecessarily or excessively at the expense of their impact on the environment. I’m going to highlight the extremes of this situation: - Tracy Krohn (chairman and chief executive of oil-and-gas producer W&T Offshore) flew nearly [200 hours in his own jet at W&T’s expense last year](https://qz.com/91041/executive-private-jets-vacation-perks/). The company hasn’t disclosed what proportion of that was used on personal trips, but it does say it charters Krohn’s own plane for him to use “for any purpose.” The company reports spending about $1 million just on Krohn’s personal flights last year. Based on fuel consumption per flight and total fuel emissions, it is estimated that greenhouse gas emissions per hour of flying is [approximately a ¼ tonne CO2](https://www.carbonindependent.org/22.html). Based on these calculations, Krohn’s yearly flight habits cause 50 tonnes of CO2 to be thrust into the atmosphere. And for this, there should be a tax. A tax for the damage to the environment.