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Ministers are being urged to cap aviation emissions ahead of the world climate change talks in Copenhagen later this year.
The UK's climate change committee has said that airlines should be forced to share the burden of Britain's commitment to an 80 per cent cut in emission by 2050.
Committee members are calling for emissions levels from aviation to be no higher in 2050 than they were in 2005.
Reports suggested the committee may also challenge the government's plans to press ahead with a third runway at Heathrow.
In a letter to transport secretary Lord Adonis and energy secretary Ed Miliband, the climate change committee warned that wealthy nations should try to ensure their aviation emissions are no higher than 2005 levels by the year 2050.
Committee chairman David Kennedy said that flights will have to become more expensive as a means of rationing.
"You may want to go on holiday more than you do now. But you may not be able to do that in a carbon constrained world," he said.
"It is vital that an agreement capping global aviation emissions is part of a Copenhagen deal.
"We are calling for a cap that would not require people to fly less than today, but would constrain aviation emissions growth going forward.
"Such a cap together with deep emissions cuts in other sectors would limit the risk of dangerous climate change and the very damaging consequences for people here and in other countries that this would have."
The committee also expressed support for an EU-wide emissions trading scheme, which would give the aviation sector with carbon 'credits' to cover some of their emissions.
But shadow energy secretary Greg Clark argued that the government's aviation policy will "lack credibility" unless it changes its stance on Heathrow.
"A Conservative government will cancel plans for a third runway at Heathrow," he said.
The climate change committee was established under the Climate Change Act and tasked with finding workable solutions to reducing carbon emissions.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd