Tax to hit private jet owners and long-haul flyers
Long-haul flyers will pay and extra couple of pounds when booking their travel under new rules in the autumn budget.
The rules will increase the air passenger duty (APD) paid on long-haul economy flights by £2, and higher class travel will increase by £4. Dury on long-haul journeys in private jets will see an increase of £13.
The duty, which is expected to raise between £3.5bn and £4.6bn every year, was criticised by British Airways owner IAG: “It’s ironic that this Brexit budget has undermined Britain’s global competitiveness by upping air passenger duty, the world’s highest aviation tax, again,” a spokesperson said
“Last year, British Airways’ passengers paid £682 million in APD. We want to offer more flights to key trading markets, like our European competitors, but APD stifles route development to new emerging markets.
“This outdated tax also costs UK jobs and growth. If Britain wants to compete on the global stage post Brexit, it should be scrapped now.
“However, we welcome the extension of e-passport gates to other countries, but this will only be effective in reducing queues if all e-gates are opened to accommodate the volume of passengers.”