7006 fan
I think if an aviation tax went to fund research into leaner burning engines, noise reductions or DVT avoidance, few ppruners would argue the toss. Instead it's an unrelated cash grab. Why not tax chocolate biscuits or skateboards or champagne?
The fact that intracontinental travel now has taxes (already) exceeding the fare, sometimes by multiples if you're travelling loco, is annoying enough as it is.
It is also a regressive tax, paid the same by the poorest and wealthiest payers, on an industry which carries tourists to these developing countries and/or asylum seekers from them.