The move is part of a carbon-trading rule on airlines using EU airports. A family of four now faces an extra charge of 80 pounds to fly to the US after the Brussels ruling on carbon emissions.

This comes on top of plans to increase air passenger duty departure levy from April, the Daily Express reported.

The EU carbon-trading rule is designed to curb emissions of carbon dioxide from aircraft engines. Each airline will be allocated pollution permits slightly less than its average emissions record for previous years.

If it exceeds its limit it can buy permits from other airlines that have emitted less than allowed and have leftover permits to sell.

The aim is to persuade or force airlines to emit less carbon by upgrading their fleets or becoming more efficient, the newspaper added. On Wednesday, the European Court of Justice inLuxembourg - the highest EU court - ruled the tax can be implemented.

Environmentalists have hailed the new law as the first step in controlling carbon emissions in a key economic sector, and EU officials said they expected all airlines to comply.

All revenue derived by the EU from the programme will go towards fighting climate change.