The UK is to replace its controversial air passenger duty (APD) with a tax on aircraft.
Alistair Darling, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the new tax would come into force in November 2009.
Under the scheme, aircraft and not passengers will be taxed.
The tax will reflect the distance the aircraft travels and the number of empty seats on flights.
The new levy is also likely to include cargo flights, passenger transfers and private jets which have been exempt from APD.
The current tax charges £10 for economy passengers and £20 for those in business class for all flights within Europe and £40 and £80 respectively for economy and business class passengers on long haul flights.
The tax raises £2.4bn a year.
But analysts estimate that with cargo, transfers and private jets excluded, only about 60% of flights in the UK are taxed.
The new scheme has been broadly welcomed by the industry.
easyJet, which called for a similar tax last month, said it was right to bring in a tax which "properly reflects the pollution levels of different aircraft types and the distance flown by those aircraft."
It was also welcomed by environmental campaigners who praised the concepyt of taxing lfiogths which were half empty.