Down with low-cost airlines! 03 February 04

Don’t shed a tear for Ryanair, which has just been ordered to pay back several million euros it received in illegal subsidies from a small Belgian airport. Because flying is the most polluting form of travel by far, low-cost flights are a disaster for the environment. Moreover, their rapid expansion – often fuelled by state subsidies (so much for the free market) encourages unsustainable travel systems. Some people have even been buying houses in Spain and working in London – in effect commuting by plane. Maybe they won’t be able to afford such a dirty lifestyle in future. Good, I say.