Affordable air travel? How dare you!

The UK government, which this week doubled air passenger duty to about $20 a flight in a sop to global warming alarmism, wants to go further and impose extra costs on airlines.  So far, British airlines like the flag carrier, British Airways, its rival, Virgin, and the budget champion, Easyjet, had acquiesced, making green-sounding noises about corporate responsibility and so on.  No longer:

Carriers thought to include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet have walked away from talks on a proposed carbon-offsetting scheme being put together by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)…

Airline executives are thought to have been concerned that the Government was trying to create a scheme that would treat all businesses in the same way. That, executives feared, could have overburdened airlines, which might find it harder to reduce emissions than companies in other industries. There were fears that the Government would dictate to the industry how the scheme would operate.

“Everyone felt the Defra plan was a step too far, especially in a week when the Chancellor had increased passenger taxes,” one industry source said.

A free society is one where non-governmental organizations do not feel threatened by government.  This is an excellent development, revealing that the businesses are prepared to stand up for their and their customers’ interests even in the face of sanctimony.