UK: Heathrow urges Chancellor to scrap air tax on domestic flights in Budget

Heathrow is urging the UK government to scrap a punitive travel tax on domestic flights to support economic growth as part of a nine-point Brexit plan. The airport has written to the Chancellor Philip Hammond ahead of the Budget in November with a plea for air passenger duty (APD) to be removed on domestic routes, arguing that UK passengers pay an extra GBP225m each year compared to those in Europe. The UK’s rate of APD is the highest in Europe and the second highest globally, behind only the central African country Chad. Passengers on a return domestic flight from Heathrow pay GBP26 in APD. Scrapping the charge would result in a GBP24m annual saving just for those flying from that airport. The airport said the tax acts as a brake on the number of domestic flights offered by airlines and that removing it would be a sensible move post-Brexit given that most European countries have little or no tax on internal flights to support their domestic industries. Consultancy Frontier Economics reckons removing APD on domestic flights would increase GDP growth and boost tax receipts to offset the loss to the Treasury from the abolition of the tax.<br/>