A Fair Tax On Flying, an umbrella group of airlines and travel companies committed to the reduction of Air Passenger Duty, has gained the support of many MP’s at a pre-budget event at Parliament.
The group aimed to get MP’s to sign a model of an Airbus A350-900 and pledge their support for at least a 50% cut to Air Passenger Duty.
According to the groups twitter feed Labour MP Rosie Cooper, Mark Tami, Luke Pollard, Chris Elmore, Gavin Shuker, Mike Gapes, Steve Pound, Jim Fitzpatrick, Yvonne Fovargue, Kate Hoey, Kevan Jones along with Conservative MP’s Jonathan Lord, Henry Smith, Jack Lopresti, Martin Vickers, DUP MP Jim Shannon and SNP Alan Brown all signed the model A350.
Thanks to @KateHoeyMP for her support to reduce APD at our pre-budget event! #makeflyingfair pic.twitter.com/ipsiIytSWR
— Fair Tax on Flying (@fairtaxonflying) October 11, 2017
A Fair Tax on Flying, whose members include British Airways parent IAG, Heathrow Airport, Virgin Atlantic, British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) and Manchester Airports Group (MAG), say that APD is bad for business, increasing the costs of UK companies trading internationally, and of international companies doing business in the UK. It is also bad for businesses dependent on domestic air travel.
As well putting making it more expensive for families to go on holiday it has a negative effect on travel and tourism which is one of the UK economy’s valuable industries, contributing a £127 billion to GDP annually and sustaining over 3 million UK jobs.
The group wants to see at least a 50% reduction in Air Passenger Duty which can be as high as £150 per passenger for a long-haul flight. This tax is paid on all outbound flights from the UK.
Top-Tip: Claim your APD back. If you book a flight but cant travel, then make sure you claim back the APD you paid to the airline when you booked. This must be repaid regardless of whether you are entitled to a refund of your ticket. APD is not paid unless you fly and airlines are pocketing thousands in unclaimed APD taxes!
Air Passenger Duty has been devolved to the Scottish and Northern Irish devolved governments who have lowered and there is a campaign in Wales for APD to be devolved however this has been blocked by Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns.
UK Air Passenger Duty Rates
| Destination Bands and distance from London (miles) | Reduced rate: (for travel in the lowest class of travel available on the aircraft) | Standard rate: (for travel in any other class of travel) | Higher rate: (for travel in aircraft of 20 tonnes or more equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band A (0 to 2,000 miles) | £13 | £26 | £78 |
| Band B (over 2,000 miles) | £75 | £150 | £450 |
Visit A Fair Tax on Flying
