Protesters descended on Heathrow and Leeds/Bradford Airports today in a coordinated attempt to highlight the fact that the aviation industry pays no VAT.

In a protest modelled on those recently seen at Oxford Street stores like Vodafone and Topshop, over 100 campaigners from TakeVAT and other direct action groups such as Plane Stupid ran around terminal 3 at Heathrow airport 'confiscating items'.

The campaigners were symbolically 'confiscating' items such as luggage trolleys and toilet roll, to highlight the fact that there is no VAT on airline tickets, the purchase of planes or on spare parts for aircraft.

In January VAT rose to 20%. Hard working families across the country are being hit hardest by the rise whilst the aviation industry - which is mainly a habit of the rich, remains a special case and is completely exempt.

In Leeds around 20 protesters targeted Leeds/Bradford Airport. As soon as they arrived off the bus they were met by a handful of police and scuffles broke out as the protesters tried to reach the terminal building. In the end they managed to sit down together to make their point heard just outside the main terminal building.

Spokesperson for TakeVAT London, David Nivens said:

"It is simply unfair that aviation pays no VAT. Why should one of the dirtiest and noisiest industries in the world get away scot-free when ordinary people are charged VAT on basic necessities like toilet rolls?"

Spokesperson for TakeVAT Leeds, University of Leeds student Joseph Blake said:

"As the government imposes austerity measures on hard working families across the UK, the aviation industry gets away with £9 billion a year in VAT tax exemptions. We took action today in solidarity with the London protests and to demand the government put people first, and not climate criminals like the aviation industry".

Source: Flickr

A painting of Bristol Airport sunk beneath a kitsch seascape appeared on the walls of Bristol City's museum today. Plane Stupid received a report at 12.30pm that a painting, which appears to be a Banksy, had been spotted next to the recently closed exhibition on aviation.

The graffiti artist has previously enjoyed a close relationship with the institution, his exhibition there in 2009 featured several modified landscapes and drew round-the-block queues. But Banksy's reputation is built on his talent for the subversive, and it seems that he's returned to pass comment on 'Flight', the recent aviation industry exhibition.

We're not surprised that Banksy would want to throw a cheeky word in on this one. Expanding Bristol Airport at a time of climate crisis is a seriously dark joke. The unprecedented flooding on Pakistan and Australia have painted a pretty bleak picture of what all our futures could look like.

Minister Eric Pickles recently decided to approve the tarmacking of greenbelt land to expand Bristol Airport, which is expected to add 30,0000 more tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year.

We just can't afford to keep heating the skies. Especially when so many of us can't even afford to heat our homes. It's crazy to put taxpayers' money into new roads for Bristol Airport at a time when public services are suffering massive cuts.

To add insult to injury, as anyone whose been keeping up to date with their Airportwatch reading will know, the west country can expect the airport to export money and jobs from the tourism industry. The UK's annual 'tourism deficit' from aviation is estimated to be at around £17 billion every year. This figure doesn't take into account the loss of revenue created by the lack of VAT on aviation fuel, which effectively subsidises the industry by about £9 billion a year. Almost enough to buy a Banksy...