UK: Airlines back fresh call for air tax to be abolished

A total of 66 new routes from the UK could be added by airlines if Air Passenger Duty was abolished, a new study claims. These include 20 domestic connections, 31 European short-haul connections and 15 long-haul routes outside of London. The research, carried out by Frontier Economics and commissioned by Airlines UK, also found that of a sample of eight loss-making routes dropped by airlines in recent years could all have been viable if the air tax had been abolished. The report concludes that by increasing the price of fares, APD dampens demand and impacts negatively on connectivity at UK airports. It highlights that APD was found to constitute as much as 50% of the price of an off-peak short-haul ticket – from UK to Poland – and 44% the price of an off-peak long-haul ticket – from UK to Israel. By raising around GBP3.4b per year, APD represents around the same cost as the total aeronautical revenue – the money raised through charges paid by airlines – generated by all airports in the UK. Airlines UK CE Tim Alderslade said: “As we prepare to leave the European Union the government should be doing everything in its power to create the right conditions for economic success. Levying the world’s highest rate of tax on air travel is incompatible with this goal." <br/>