Rachel Reeves’s bid to expand Heathrow could add £40 to airline ticket
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Exclusive: Treasury analysis shows ticket prices expected to go up across board with no plans for frequent flyers to shoulder more of the cost. Rachel Reeves’s bid to expand Heathrow airport could add £40 to the cost of an airline ticket, according to the Treasury’s own analysis.
![[Rachel Reeves]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2b700250246cd85b1dfb3cecd8f6f69d52cc96af/1297_17_3107_1865/master/3107.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The chancellor’s proposal to minimise the carbon emissions of a bigger Heathrow include the use of sustainable aviation fuels, which experts say are expensive and unlikely to reach the scale needed for aviation expansion. A Treasury cost-benefit analysis seen by the Guardian shows that sustainable fuels could increase the cost of a single economy airline fare by £37.80 by 2040. There are no plans to ensure frequent flyers, or those in first or business class, shoulder more of the cost, with ticket prices expected to go up across the board.
The chancellor drew up the climate plans in response to criticism from the energy secretary, Ed Miliband. He is understood to have warned cabinet colleagues that airport expansion is likely to put the UK in breach of its legally binding carbon budget, which keeps the government on track to meet its 2050 net zero emissions target. One senior source said Reeves had been “gung ho” about Heathrow since the summer and had been putting pressure on Miliband and the former transport secretary Louise Haigh.
and hopes to have approval for London City’s expansion plans. A number of cabinet ministers have been reassured by the proposal from the chancellor to include plans to use sustainable fuels. However, others fear it is prioritising short-term economic growth over tackling the climate crisis, which has been shown to be likely to tank economies, with more frequent natural disasters that destroy infrastructure, homes and the food supply.
