Airline tax rise threatens low-cost long-haul flights from regional airports, experts claim

Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester could miss out on new transatlantic links unless Air Passenger Duty (APD) is eliminated, a leading airline group has said. IAG has written to MPs to say “it’s not financially viable” for the group’s low-cost brand, Level, to fly from those cities with APD at current levels. The group says Level’s one-way fares start at GBP88. APD for long-haul flights is currently GBP75, but will increase to GBP78 for flights from April 1, 2018. Willie Walsh, IAG’s CE said: “British consumers are losing out because of APD. In Spain and France, Level can offer lower fares than it can in the UK – and that goes for other long-haul low-cost airlines too." The letter from IAG says for a trading nation reliant on developing international connections post-Brexit to tax aviation so harshly is “foolhardy”. <br/>