Cheapflights call for APD to be scrapped
23.09.08
Cheapflights, the popular online price comparison website, has called for the government to abolish Air Passenger Duty (APD). As the Labour Party conference takes place in Manchester, the company demanded that Chancellor Alistair Darling immediately axe APD.
Cheapflights' chief executive Chris Cuddy said: ‘With the UK economy teetering on recession, the government needs to act and act now. The aviation industry has been hit far harder than most sectors of the economy by rising oil prices and infrastructure fees. It will be a sad day indeed when flying once again becomes the preserve of the rich and only the affluent can afford to go abroad.'
‘APD creates a double whammy for ordinary working people who are not only prevented from flying to the sunshine but are forced to holiday domestically and thus endure the UK's high prices. The government knows full well that APD has nothing whatever to do with the environment. One of its ministers even admitted it.'
‘Ministers have been fast to act on Stamp Duty. They must act equally quickly on APD to give the UK aviation industry and UK travellers, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder, the respite they deserve.’
The company also described as a ‘con’ claims that APD is environmentally positive. It said: ‘The money raised does not get invested in environmental clean-up. APD actually has the opposite effect by undermining airlines' profitability and therefore their ability to invest in more fuel efficient aircraft.'
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