Air passenger duty (APD) is a levy on the airfares of adult passengers travelling from UK airports. We have one of the highest aviation taxes in Europe. Several near neighbours, including Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium have eliminated their aviation taxes altogether.
In the run up to the 2018 Budget, we called for APD to be halved and eventually abolished across the UK. We joined forces with others, including the A Fair Tax on Flying campaign, to make the case to the government. Former Cabinet Ministers, Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party and The Sun newspaper also backed our calls. On the day, the Chancellor backed down from raising short haul APD and froze long haul APD.
After years of continued campaigning, the Treasury accepted our recommendations in the 2021 Budget and cut domestic air passenger duty by 50 per cent for flights, while freezing short haul APD. Despite our warnings, charges on long haul flights are set to increase.
We will continue to campaign for a full cut in short haul and long haul airfare duties.