At the beginning of the last century a holiday in Australia usually involved a journey by train. By the middle of that century the train had been replaced by the car - usually with a caravan hitched on behind. At century's end the invention of jet planes made holidays overseas a normal event for everyday people. That era is now under threat.
The whole world is alarmed by global warming - and unfortunately one of the worst pollution offenders are airlines. There has recently been a serious suggestion by an environmental group that a thirty dollar tax be slapped on every passenger seat on every airline flight - for the sole purpose of decreasing the number of people flying on airplanes.
The whole purpose of aviation has been to persuade more people to fly and take holidays that broaden their knowledge and perspective - and yet we have a doomsayer group wanting to apply draconian restrictions, virtually economically locking people out of air travel.
The future of the aviation industry is headed towards bigger aircraft that carry more people - and which have more efficient engines that generate less noise, use less fuel - and leave behind less pollution. For that to happen, there must be a supply of holiday happy passengers to fill those seats.
There will never be an aircraft that creates absolutely no pollution - just as there will never be a world where all industry is pollution free. That is something we simply have to live with but the mentality of those who seek to price holiday travel out of existence is on a par with the neanderthals who want to shut down all forms of production and commerce - and go back to the cave man days.
There may be problems living in a polluted world - but it is a better bet than flipping living back several centuries to what we refer to as " the dark ages " !
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