THE green movement presents "huge financial challenges" to the aviation industry, the boss of Manchester Airport has said.

At a dinner organised by the " pro manchester" organisation on Friday, Geoff Muirhead, chief executive of Manchester Airport Group, said "environmental activism" and increasing pressure for regulation could harm an industry that was "unfairly" perceived not to be paying enough taxes.

At the Midland Hotel, he told business leaders: "I resist those calls to increase taxes. None of our European competitors faces these taxes, which cover all the estimate we have for the external cost of aviation."

His comments followed claims from all three major political parties that flight emissions are the fastest growing contributor to global warming and that air travel should be taxed more.

Mr Muirhead said that although the industry must tackle growing concerns about climate change, he feared for the economic wellbeing of the country if environmental concerns came to outweigh business growth.

He called on Manchester's business community to be vocal in support for the Barker Review - which raised the need to simplify planning systems - because airport expansion was a key to the long-term growth of Manchester's economy.

"The planning system is getting longer, more expensive and more complex," he said.

And he complained that airport expansion was largely opposed by affluent people at the expense of their poorer neighbours.

He added: "Frequent fliers and former pilots are more likely to be at the forefront of campaigns to oppose expansion - more so than the unemployed seeking training and opportunities." But he predicted a booming future for the airport.

By 2030, he claimed, Manchester could be handling 50m passengers a year and "something approaching 500,000 tonnes of air freight".

But he added: "We need to make sure the London Olympics don't divert government attention and resources to London's transport needs at the expense of every other part of the UK."

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