Flying Matters in third-world farmers Terminal 5 package holiday puzzle

No one said Flying Matters were shrewd at public relations. Their last attempt at advertising consisted of a smear campaign on an Inuit leader - guilty only of caring that his people are suffering from our addiction to weekends in Spain.

But their latest garbled comment, in today's Times article, is a classic attempt to make aviation into the saviour of humanity:

"[Plane Stupid's] actions impact most on those they profess to be protecting: families who holiday once a year, ethnic minorities who rely on air transport to visit family, and farmers in the developing world reliant on UK consumers.”

The idea that these three groups are the primary users of Heathrow is so abjectly absurd that I wonder how they ever thought we'd believe it. Civil Aviation Authority data, and data from the Department for Transport, repeatedly shows that the 'democratisation of the skies' is really just an excuse for the wealthy to fly six times a year, not for poor families to take the occasional city break.

50% of people don't fly, according to a recent Mori poll, and 62% didn't fly abroad last year. 79% of the poorest quintile didn't fly abroad, while 14% of the richest people flew 4 times or more - hardly the image of equality Flying Matters want you to believe.

As for farmers in the Global South - how will climate change affect their agriculture? Air frieghted goods make up a small percentage of output, but have a disproportionate impact on climate; not the best way to work yourself out of poverty.

If FM really wanted to help, they'd oppose expanding Heathrow airport, which will see West London blighted by noise and pollution; escalate CO2 emissions, causing climate change; wipe out communities and lock us into an unsustainable existence for many years to come - and all so the rich can visit Tuscany more often.

Flying Matters? Of course it does - but for all the reasons they'd like you to forget.