Rooting about for Mediterranean holiday possibilities on the Expedia website recently, I came across a flight for £300. About half of that was the fare; the rest was labelled “taxes and fees”. I do not regard taxation as theft and I accept that air travellers should pay for the environmental damage they cause. Still, a 100 per cent tax rate did seem steep.

I carried on clicking and discovered I was getting off lightly. On the British Airways site, I investigated what tax I would pay if I were setting out this morning from London’s Heathrow to New York’s JFK. When I looked, an economy flight leaving this Tuesday and returning on Tuesday next week was selling for £296.40 ($583). The fare accounted for just £80 – which suggested a ticket tax of 270 per cent.