Burnham’s new Energy Secretary backed a frequent flyer tax - here's what she said

Andy Burnham’s new Energy Secretary has previously backed calls for frequent flyers to be charged a green tax on plane tickets.

Miatta Fahnbulleh was chief executive of the New Economics Foundation (NEF) think-tank between 2017 and 2023, which advocated for a levy to help limit carbon emissions from flights.

A report published in 2021 backed charges potentially worth hundreds of pounds to target people who fly regularly, replacing the current Air Passenger Duty (APD) system.

In the same year, the now Energy Secretary told The Independent that the Conservative government – which had announced a cut to APD on domestic flights – should be “raising, not cutting, taxes with a frequent flyer levy”.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has insisted that a frequent flyer levy is “not government policy,” and there is no suggestion Fahnbulleh will push for it as a minister – or that the Government is considering introducing one.