The government has been accused of "not taking the climate crisis seriously" after plans to drastically slash flight tax led to a spike in domestic flights.
Analysis by The Mirror and the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) showed that extra routes introduced by one airline alone - which were directly linked to the cut - will dump more than 9,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
Airlines including Ryanair and easyJet pushed hard for the cut - which will see Air Passenger Duty (APD) down 50% to £6.50 from April 1. (This is due to rise again next year to £7 following the government's Spring 2023 budget announcement).
