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'Breathing' tax at Venezuela's airport

Posted on 11th July 2014

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A real science fiction scenario is described in this BBC report.

Maiquetia International Airport in Caracas is now charging a fee for the right to inhale clean air. Ostensibly this fee (US$20) is to pay for the new air conditioning system which cleans the air using ozone, to eliminate airborne bacteria.

As radio presenter Daniel Martínez tweeted: "The toilets don't have water, the air-con is broken, there are stray dogs inside the airport, but there's ozone?"

The situation is so very like that in many Sci-Fi stories, where basics for life, such as water and air, are charged. Is this the first stage in the introduction of some horrific brave new world? I do hope not. It makes me think of a planet described in the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, which has a problem with the volume of tourists, who always want to take away souvenirs, to the extent that visitors and their luggage are weighed on arrival and departure, and you need to get a receipt each time you use the toilet; excess weight is removed surgically at departure.