With increasing concern about tax hikes in the Budget, a quick winner could be a fuel duty charge across the aviation sector, according to the Transport & Environment (T&E) think tank, which predicts the levy could raise up to £5.9bn a year.

Annual road fuel duty at 53p a litre accounts for almost 5% of total government tax receipts but jet fuel is currently not taxed in the same way.

Almost the same amount of jet fuel was burnt up in 2023 compared to road users, with 11.1m tonnes of emissions, and Transport & Environment said taxing this fuel could add between £400m-£5.9bn in tax receipts annually.

Additionally, the group claimed £3.37m was lost every hour as aviation was not taxed in the same way as road transport.