Air Passenger Duty set to soar from next week

Air Passenger Duty (APD) on many flights will be increased next week, some by 50%, making many holiday destinations unaffordable, particularly for families. Thomas Cook say the rise in APD is counterproductive, while British Airways' chief executive, Willie Walsh, believes the latest increase is a disaster. Next week's rise in APD will be the second significant rise in just two years.

Destinations around the world are distributed into four bands, and each band indicates the amount of Air Passenger Duty is assigned to that destination. America is a band B - travellers currently pay £45 APD on economy class seats, which will go up to £60 next week.

Meanwhile, APD on economy flights to the Caribbean are £50, which will go up to £75. This means that a family of four will have to pay £300 on Air Passenger Duty if they want to take a holiday in the Caribbean. Air Passenger Duty on economy flights to destinations in band D will rise from £55 to £85.

Many travel companies believe the rise in APD penalises ordinary holidaymakers for deciding to travel long distance destinations, having a detrimental effect on the travel industry. The Daily Telegraph has launched a petition to banish APD, and so far 50,000 readers have signed it. There has been talk of scrapping Air Passenger Duty and replacing it with a tax on each plane, but not everyone believes this is a suitable alternative.

Air passenger duty was first introduced in 1994 on long haul flights to try to encourage travellers to take greener travel options by visiting destinations closer to home. Back then, APD cost just £10 on long haul flights. 2007 saw the first rise in APD. Hopefully this year's rise will be the last, as the costs are already very high for some destinations.

Digg    Reddit    Facebook    Tweet This