On
1 April, the UK government once again increased the
amount of the so-called Air Passenger Duty (APD), a shockingly
uncompetitive tax that jeopardises the travel plans of many families
and companies. The Association of European Airlines (AEA) strongly
condemns this increase in APD, which now becomes the highest flight
tax in the world as it will seriously harm all air travel to, from
and within the UK.
Disregarding
repeated calls from the travel industry, customers and businesses,
the UK Government has done nothing to avoid a further increase of the
highly controversial Air Passenger Duty, which was first introduced
in 1994 as a flat charge of ₤5 or ₤10 per passenger, depending on
the class of seat purchased. From 1
April,
APD will add ₤94 to the price of a long-haul economy flight of more
than 6,000 miles and ₤188 to business and first class tickets. For
airlines,the UK is the second most expensive country in the world. In
a recent World Economic Forum Report, the country is ranked 139 out
of 140 for the competitiveness of its airport and aviation taxes.“Independent studies have clearly indicated that government taxes on air travel have a suffocating effect that creates more harm than benefit”, says Mr Athar Husain Khan, acting Secretary General of AEA. “It might be easy to sell as a great revenue generator during budget discussions, but in reality they are seriously harming the economy and trade. Increasing the burden on an industry that can facilitate growth and job creation in the European economy is unacceptable.”
