The boss of an airline which operates services from Durham Tees Valley Airport has urged the government to review EU climate change policy, which could force smaller carriers to hike up fares.

Eastern Airways chairman, Bryan Huxford believes the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which requires airlines to buy permits for the carbon they emit en route, burdens small carriers with costly red tape when the high cost of fuel is sufficient incentive to curb fuel usage.

“The Emissions Trading Scheme, implemented by Brussels earlier this year is good in theory but, for Europe's smaller carriers, is a disaster in practice,” he said. “I find it unbelievable that the scheme results in the cost of administration equalling or exceeding the cost of compliance for smaller airlines.

“Eastern Airways, together with every other European airline takes very seriously the need to minimise the impact of its flights on climate change, even though we already have an aircraft fleet that is extremely fuel efficient.  However, the Emissions Trading Scheme for aviation, implemented by the European Community is far from being in the interests of Eastern Airways' customers.” he continued.

Emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) are generated from the kerosene that is used as the fuel for aircraft engines and high fuel costs are a strong incentive to find all possible ways, without compromising safety, to minimise fuel consumption, reckoned Mr Huxford.

“We do not object to buying the carbon allowances but we see no sense whatsoever in obliging our passengers to pay, through their fares, for complex and precise reporting procedures that contribute nothing to environmental protection,” said Mr Huxford, who has written to the Government and Civil Aviation Authority calling for an immediate alleviation of the costs by using simpler and more rationale reporting procedures.

Mike Ambrose, director general of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) said: “Forcing small airlines to adopt reporting procedures that demand a level of precision many dimensions different from the inexactness of climate change science is absurd.  If the European Commission and European Parliament members had listened to the industry when the scheme was drafted, such a ridiculous situation would have been avoided.

“Earlier this month, David Cameron urged the EU to cut its bureaucracy.  If the UK government fails to act to cut through this wasteful red tape, it will be passengers who will continue to fund this needless bureaucracy,” Mr Ambrose concluded.

Eastern Airways first started operating scheduled flights from Durham Tees Valley in 2000 and provides four services each weekday plus a Sunday service from the airport to Aberdeen.