Fury as Reeves urged to scrap £2bn private jet fuel tax break while ordinary drivers pay at the pump
Survey shows two-thirds of Brits—including Reform voters—want higher taxes on private jets to help fund public services
Campaigners have accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of “winging it” over a scandalous tax loophole that lets billionaires fly tax-free in private jets while working families fork out at the fuel pump.
In a cheeky stunt outside Parliament, activists attached giant wings to a car to highlight what they call a “ludicrous” system that sees a mum on the school run pay more tax on petrol than a millionaire jetting between their luxury homes.
“Every driver in Britain pays fuel duty. Private jet passengers pay none,” said Alethea Warrington from climate group Possible. “That cannot be justified in a cost of living and climate crisis.”
The rich getting a free ride
The protest comes ahead of the Autumn Budget, with campaigners demanding Reeves close the loophole and put an end to a £2 billion-a-year free ride for the ultra-wealthy.
Figures suggest that scrapping the fuel duty exemption for private jets could raise enough to boost public services including the NHS and public transport.
The action, organised by The Jet Collectors—a pilot-led coalition of groups including Possible, Flight Free UK, GALBA and Serious People—also featured a billboard in Reeves’ Leeds West and Pudsey constituency and a spoof website offering to convert Ford Fiestas or Peugeots to ‘PJs’ so ordinary people can avoid fuel tax, just like billionaires.
Comedian and campaigner Oli Frost said: “Yet again it’s one set of rules for the jet setting elite, and another for the rest of us. A private jet is just a very fancy car with wings. It’s time we started taxing them like one.”
The public wants taxes on private jets
Public support appears firmly behind the idea. A Survation poll found two thirds (67%) of Britons want higher taxes on private jets to help fund vital services. A staggering 75% believe private jets should pay at least the same, if not more, fuel duty as cars.
In what will be a sting to Four Homes Farage and his super-rich mates, Reform voters agreed in slightly higher numbers than average that private jets should be taxed more.
Former Thomas Cook pilot turned activist Todd Smith said: “Britain cannot afford to keep giving billionaires a free pass to pollute. A tax on private jet fuel would raise billions for public services while making the system fairer for everyone. The same rules should apply to everyone, whether you’re driving to work or flying to Monaco.”
Labour MP Chris Hinchliff added: “Private jets are among the most polluting forms of transport, yet they remain scandalously undertaxed … We must make the polluters pay, and that includes the super-rich who treat the skies as their playground.”
Britain, a safe haven for elite polluters
Other European nations including France and Spain are already moving to slap levies on luxury flying through the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, a scheme to raise money for climate and development causes.
The UK is now the private jet capital of Europe, with one taking off every six minutes. A single flight from Farnborough to Nice emits as much CO₂ as a family car driving round the entire planet.
Campaigners say the message is clear: stop “winging it” and make the super-rich finally pay their fair share.