Airlines UK has written to Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson seeking urgent talks on extending the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to refinery products such as aviation fuel, Sky News reports. The broadcaster says it has seen the letter from Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, whose members include British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
According to Sky News, the letter warns the move "would place a further cost on the sector" and says the proposals were "taken without consultation with UK airlines". An unnamed aviation source told Sky News: "Passengers will pay for it via higher fares."
Until now the measure rested on the account of the industry body Fuels Industry UK. Travel Weekly reports that the Treasury policy document issued after the Budget says the government intends "to expand the scope of the UK's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to include refined products". Fuels Industry UK's claim that no firm start date has been set has not been independently checked.
Travel Weekly quotes Alderslade as saying on 29 October that the Budget "delivered yet another blow to airline passengers". It also quotes him saying: "We urge the government to think again." The publication says the UK imports 75% of the kerosene used by airlines. That figure has not been independently checked.