Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to ban short haul domestic flights; and whether his Department has made any assessment of the potential merits of such a policy.

We have no plans to ban domestic flights. The aviation sector is vital for the whole of the UK economy in terms of connectivity, direct economic activity, trade, investment and jobs, particularly where viable alternative modes of travel are limited.

We are committed to enabling the recovery of the sector to support our levelling up agenda through regional connectivity and strengthen ties within the Union. We recognise the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver connectivity.

The Government is already supporting a variety of technology, fuel and market-based measures to address aviation emissions, and we will consult on a Net Zero Aviation Strategy in the coming months, setting out the steps to reach net zero aviation emissions by 2050.