New air tax ‘will hit long haul flights’
26.04.08
The new air tax planned by the Government could raise the cost of family holidays outside Europe by £90, it has been claimed. The British Air Transport Association says that families will have to pay £250 just to leave the country in 2011, up from £160 now, if the tax is introduced as currently suggested.
The warning came at the end of a consultation period on government proposals to introduce a new aviation duty to be levied on every departing aircraft to replace Air Passenger Duty (APD). The new tax is expected to be introduced in November 2009 and would to raise more than £3.5 billion in taxes in 2011-12, compared to £971 million from APD in 2006-07, according to BATA.
The association’s secretary general Roger Wiltshire said that the proposals would hit the UK aviation industry and give an advantage to foreign airports and airlines by making it cheaper for travellers to connect to a hub on the Continent to then fly long-haul rather than taking a flight direct from the UK.
He said: ‘Passengers who choose to make their long-hail journey via an airport in another EU state would benefit from a windfall reduction of 75%. These passengers currently pay £40 APD whereas in the future they would only pay short haul aviation duty of around £10.'
‘This large incentive will not only create significant competitive disadvantage for airlines providing long-haul services from UK airports such as Heathrow, it will also encourage more indirect journeys, which will increased emissions.’ Passengers connecting to flights from the continent to the US would also then fly back across the UK.
He claimed that the plan would deliver ‘questionable environmental benefits’ as it is not linked to the emissions of a particular aircraft. ‘So it provides no incentive to invest in more environmentally friendly aircraft, yet will threaten the UK’s air links, economy and families.’
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