Abstract
There is not a convincing case for investigating in any of the new runways or airports proposed by the Department for Transport (2002). If air transport covered all its social costs by paying the same fuel taxes as other transport, air fares would increase and hence air traffic would decrease. The case for taxing air transport is so powerful that current international negotiations should lead to new charges on aviation. Extensions of runway capacity, while traffic decreases, would lead to losses on investment. Private investors should not rely on a future government to cover such losses when present government policy excludes public funding of new airport capacity. (A)