Air Passenger Duty to increase following pre-budget report
Air Passenger Duty to increase following pre-budget report
Plans to replace Air Passenger Duty (APD) have been abandoned. In his pre-budget report, chancellor Alistair Darling yesterday announced an increase in tax for air passengers from next year, instead of a planned aviation tax.
Darling had previously indicated that APD would be scrapped in favour of an
aviation tax, which would target aircraft rather than passengers, reports The Telegraph.
However, APD will remain and the charges will be levied across
four bands, dependent on the distance travelled. From November 2009 APD will be charged as follows:
Band A, covering flights to
Europe will cost £11 (currently £10).
Band B, covering flights of up to 4,000 miles, such as to
Egypt and the
US, will cost £45 (currently £40).
Band C, covering flights of up to 6,000 miles, such as to the
Caribbean and
India, will cost £50 (currently £40).
Band D, covering flights of more than 6,000 miles, such as to
Australia and
New Zealand, will cost £60 (currently £40).
APD is also set to rise again in
November 2010. Band A will increase to £12, Band B to £60, Band C to £75 and Band D to £85. Passengers travelling in premium class cabins will be taxed at twice this rate.
The move has been met with criticism by many leading carriers.
easyJet's chief executive Andy Harrison said that he was "dismayed" that Darling had failed to reform a "bodged tax", adding that the chancellor had increased the financial burden for families.
A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said the organisation was "very worried about next year" and that it was "essentially a tax on travellers".
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