British families face huge rises in tax on long-haul flights if the government’s plans for an increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) go ahead.
APD has been the source of heated debate between the government and the aviation industry in recent months.
Some of UK’s biggest airlines have accused the government of halting growth and hindering the UK’s overall economic growth as a result.
“These endless cumulative increases in APD are pricing families out of flying – both from and to the UK,” said easyJet, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair in a joint a statement.
“That means fewer visitors to the UK, which destroys jobs in our tourism, aviation and hospitality industries – and chokes off opportunities for young people at a time of exceptional youth unemployment.”
The next round of APD increases come into effect on 1 April, shortly after George Osborne’s budget announcement on 21 March.
The increases will mean that a family of four will have to pay £368 in tax for a trip to Australia and £264 for flights to America.
But this is just the latest round of APD increases. The government wants to raise the duty by 46 per cent by 2016. This would see a family of four pay £440 for a trip to the Caribbean and a whopping £500 in duty for a holiday to Australia.
“Aviation wants to, and should be, playing a leading role in economic recovery – as it does in so many other countries,” the airlines’ statement continued.
“But the UK imposes the highest aviation taxes in the world, and keeps on increasing them without any analysis whatever of their overall economic impact. We are exporting economic growth, and jobs, to competitor countries. How much longer must this madness go on?”
A study by the World Travel and Tourism Council has revealed that scrapping APD could add £4.2 billion to the economy by next year, while also creating up to 91,000 jobs.
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