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Civil Aviation Bill

I do not accept that the industry is a tax-free zone—it is not—and it contributes almost £1 billion through the tax paid by aeroplanes using airports. I prefer to think of it as part of the travel industry and, unlike other parts of the travel industry, it operates and pays some taxes without a subsidy. On my hon. Friend’s other point, if the view is that extra taxes must be imposed to deal with some of the aviation industry’s environmental problems, a global solution is the only way to do so, otherwise we would put our economy at a severe disadvantage. The industry is strange because of the way that its has developed historically. If we looked at the CAA in principle, we would not put an economic regulator together with a body that is responsible for safety—that goes against most basic first principles—but as a member of the Select Committee on Transport, I have asked aeroplane pilots, airline and airport operators and ex-members of the CAA about that, and they say that it does not seem to cause any problem at present. It is useful to use that as an analogy in the context of the hon. and learned Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier) finding it strange that airports can fine aeroplanes that fly off path. It is probably strange but, where that scheme exists, it probably works.