Hundreds of small private jets will be exempt from a European scheme designed to make the aviation industry pay for the environmental damage it causes.

The European Commission announced plans yesterday to make airlines buy permits to cover their carbon dioxide emissions. The scheme will add up to €9 (£6) to the cost of a flight within Europe and up to €40 to longer trips, with the cost varying according to the market price of the permits.

The scheme will be introduced for flights within the European Union in 2011 and be extended to all arrivals and departures at European airports the next year. But the commission added that very light private jets, small propeller-driven aircraft and government aircraft would not be included.

The announcement was welcomed by air taxi operators, who are investing heavily in small jets to meet rapidly growing demand for private flights. More than 300 small jets are to be delivered to European operators by 2011.

JetBird, which has placed an order for 100 Phenom four-seat jets, said that the exemption would help to accelerate the expansion of air taxi companies.

Paul Geaney, the managing director of JetBird, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic news for us. Emissions trading was an additional cost we had assumed in our business which we can now take out.” But he said that JetBird recognised its environmental responsibilities and was planning a private scheme to allow customers to offset their carbon emissions by paying for projects that improved energy efficiency.

A commission spokeswoman said that small jets weighing less than 5,700kg (900 stone) had been excluded because they were responsible for only a fraction of emissions and the cost of including them would have outweighed the environmental benefits.

She added that the commission had responded to objections from America and other countries by allowing an extra year before it was extended to flights beyond Europe. It estimated that by 2020 the initiative could save 183 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year — double Austria’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

As with industrial companies, covered by the emissions trading scheme, airlines will be given allowances and will have to buy additional permits if their emissions grow.

The total allowances distributed initially to airlines will be capped at their current level of emissions. Some allowances will be auctioned, but the vast majority will be issued free.

Aviation currently accounts for about 3 per cent of total EU greenhouse gas emissions but its share is growing fast. Emissions from flights have increased by 87 per cent since 1990 as air travel has become cheaper.

Someone flying from London to New York generates about the same level of emissions as the average EU citizen does when heating his or her home for a year.

The commission claimed that the scheme would encourage airlines to invest in more fuel-efficient aircraft and adapt existing aircraft.

The commission admitted that the scheme would have only a small effect on the growth in flights, with the increase forecast for the period from 2005 to 2020 reduced from 142 per cent to 135 per cent. But it said that airlines would pay for emissions to be reduced by other industries.

Richard Dyer, of Friends of the Earth, said: “We need additional measures that will curb aviation demand if we are to meet our targets for tackling climate change. This means stopping the huge tax breaks enjoyed by the aviation industry and cancelling airport expansion plans.”

The International Air Transport Association, which represents most of the world’s airlines, welcomed the scheme and said Jacques Barrot, vice-president of the commission, had intervened to ensure that it was not too onerous for the industry.

Airborne taxis

Air taxis can operate from more than 1,000 small airports in Europe where the runways are too short for larger jets

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