“Aviation supports more than 500,000 jobs in the UK and provides the transport links that are vital to the success of UK businesses in a globalised economy. Excessive taxation puts aviation’s social and economic benefits at risk. We already met our carbon costs twice over even before [November’s air passenger duty] increases.”

Willie Walsh, chief executive, British Airways

“Air passenger duty [APD] is just a tax-raising measure, aiming at a soft target. We would be more sympathetic if the proceeds were used to mitigate aviation’s impact on the environment.” Richard Gooding, chief executive,

London City airport

“BAR UK has campaigned tirelessly against these excessive and unfair taxes. Air passengers are being discriminated against and the economy will suffer. BAR UK is calling on the Treasury not to implement any further increases since the airline industry and its customers cannot afford the international competitiveness of the UK to slide any further.

“We are already seeing evidence of airlines pulling back from the UK marketplace. This flies in the face of government statements that the UK is open for business. Aviation taxes are now being seen as anti-business and are disproportionate. The Treasury must reassess its policies urgently before the UK suffers even more.”

Mike Carrivick, chief executive, Board of Airline Representatives (BAR) UK

“If you continue to see it as an easy source of low-hanging fruit, in the end, the tide will turn and people will stop travelling or they’ll lessen the amount of trips they take. When Holland introduced APD the business reduction was immediate. So it has a backlash, and it’s not just about airlines but what goes through the airport. The whole supply chain to the aviation sector takes a pasting because everyone is spending less.”

Tim Clark, president, Emirates

“Given the forecasted rises in APD over the next five years, all travellers will be more than paying their fair share and, in fact, contributing more to the treasury than the banks via the new banking levy. Our message to the government is that this absolutely has to be the last time the travelling public faces APD rises.”

Julie Southern, chief commercial officer, Virgin Atlantic

“APD, as well as planned German/Austrian/Swiss taxation, is a very disappointing development. The aviation sector is used as a cash cow to create revenue for governments and this revenue is not used for environmental work but to plug budget deficits. The way to reduce environmental impact, and also to generate revenue for emission reductions, is to have a global emissions trading scheme in place. The current patchwork of different systems and taxation is not beneficial for the environment, nor does it create a level playing field in competitive terms for airlines.”

Kati Ihamaki, vice-president for sustainable development, Finnair

“We are extremely disappointed that the government has chosen to increase tax on air travellers at a time when we should be encouraging people to travel. UK business and leisure travellers depend on good connectivity on shorter and longer routes. This tax increase will seriously disadvantage air travellers departing from the UK.”

Wolfgang Prock Schauer, chief executive, Bmi

“It’s the inbound passengers, who are paying as much tax as a UK passenger going outbound, that we are beginning to price out of the marketplace. These are also the people who, if you talk to Visit Britain, are the highest spenders on the high street, in the restaurants and hotels, and who stay the longest because these are medium- and long-haul journeys.

“Then there are the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] economies, with the exception of Russia, who are all in bands at the US level or even higher, and these are the people making decisions on whether they invest here. Let alone then interfacing that with the fact that new services can’t get into our airports because they are full – certainly, the airports they want to fly into are full.

“We’re very agitated that this seems to be a one-way ticket to revenue for 11 Downing Street. There’s no feedback into our industry. It’s just a tax on us doing our business.”

Bob Schumacher, senior director UK and Ireland, Continental Airlines

“Such unilateral action will weaken Germany as a base for the aviation industry, and will massively distort competition. As Germany’s largest carrier, Lufthansa will be hit particularly hard by the tax. The relationship between the level of the tax and the distance flown will put Germany – a leading export nation that relies heavily on global connections – at a special disadvantage. The aviation tax will give momentum to foreign airlines and airports, as the experience in the Netherlands has shown.”

Lufthansa

“Constantly escalating taxes are a source of real concern for airlines and it seems quite unreasonable for us to be hit time and again in this way. Airlines appear to be the target of choice for governments that want simply to raise additional income, and, despite the odd bland assurance, in no way does the industry and its customers benefit from this approach.”

Oman Air

“The losers in this decision are the passengers. We will have to pass on the levy introduced by the government to the customers. The levy drains economic power out of Germany and displaces it into neighbouring countries. It places jobs at risk, restricts people’s mobility and acts as a brake on the economic recovery of our country. The winners with this new levy are the airports in Holland, Belgium, Poland and Switzerland.”

Thomas Winkelmann, management spokesman, Germanwings

“[Germany’s new ‘eco’ tax] is the worst kind of short-sighted policy irresponsibility. It’s a cash-grab by a cash-strapped government. Painting it green adds insult to injury – there will be no environmental benefit from the economic damage caused. It is the wrong measure at the wrong time, and it ignores the lessons learnt from the failure of a similar tax in the Netherlands.

“The Dutch government tried to raise Euro 300 million with a similar tax. It cost the Dutch economy e1.2 billion in lost business. It also failed as an environmental measure, sending travellers across the border to start their journey from [countries with] more tax-sensible regimes. The Dutch had the good sense to repeal their tax. Why repeat past mistakes? Climate change is a global issue, and the solution requires a global approach, not uncoordinated regional taxes. If the chancellor is serious about aviation and climate change, the focus should be on finding a globally co-ordinated solution.”

Giovanni Bisignani, director general and CEO, International Air Transport Association (IATA)

“The government should reform APD to make it fairer for the public and to encourage greener behaviour by airlines. APD is already higher in the UK than anywhere else in Europe, and UK passengers and the environment would be better off if the tax was shifted from per person to a per plane tax.”

Carolyn McCall, chief executive, Easyjet