For all its bluster and greenwash, the airline industry can't seem to shake its reputation for putting profit before the environment. This latest story will do the industry no favours: Flybe have been using every trick in the book to boost passenger numbers, including laying on free flights and offering to pay actors to pose as passengers.

Normally I'd be railing at them doing something so ridiculously un-environmental, but dig a little deeper and an even more incomprehensible story comes to light. The airline was pushing its passenger numbers up in order to escape a £280,000 penalty from the airport, owned by Norwich City Council, which punished the airline if it failed to get 15,000 people into the air.

Who'd have thunk it? For years we've been fighting BAA, convinced by their public image of being anti-environment and pro-expansion. Then, just as we were settling in for the long term, they betray us all, revealing a serious eco-streak.

For all our antics, Plane Stupid's greatest impact on emissions was grounding a couple of planes at Nottingham East Midlands Airport back in 2006. This pales in comparision to BAA, who have been systematically monkey-wrenching Terminal 5. They're doing an awesome job - so far grounding over two hundred planes and stranding countless thousands of passengers, preventing them jetting about in an irresponsible manner.

Just think of all those emissions being stopped at source! Of course, as Schnews pointed out this week, all these cock-ups will be solved soon enough and the airports and airlines can get on with earning some serious bucks. But screwing up what should have been the biggest pro-expansion love-in casts a shadow over their ability to handle a bigger airport - and for that, we tip our hat. Trebles all round, gents!