I SUPPOSE those who know me will be expecting me to write bemoaning the introduction of cheap flights to London City from Plymouth.

I have no criticism for the bosses of Air SouthWest or Plymouth Airport for seeing the business opportunity and going for it; it may be environmentally irresponsible but that is not what they are paid for.

I have no criticism for the people who will take up their offer of a £29 trip to London without being asked to pay the real cost; that is a matter for their consciences. What I do object to is the system that prevents us from even seeing the true costs of flying, never mind actually paying for them. Every litre of fuel we burn today is a litre that will not be available when your grand-daughter needs to be rushed to hospital giving birth to your first great-grandchild; how much would you pay for fuel for the ambulance then? Every kilogramme of pollution you put in the air today is another step on the road to a world that cannot support human life; how much would you pay to undo that when there is no bread in the shops?

When we drive, we have to pay the costs of maintaining the roads and car parks (either directly through road taxes or indirectly through government support). When we catch the train we have to pay the cost of maintaining the track and stations: yet when we fly there is no charge for the damage that we do to the air; we just pay for the cost of the airport, the plane and the fuel. We don't even pay any tax on the fuel. In these terms £29 is probably a fair price, but it is very far from the true cost.

So good luck to AirSouthWest and their passengers; they are behaving badly, but while the Government fails to provide leadership what else can we expect? I remain hopeful that fairly soon we will all start to understand that we don't need to travel fast in the same way as we need to maintain a habitable planet; then we will see Plymouth Airport wither and close through lack of use.

ROGER CREAGH-OSBORNE

Landulph, Cornwall