Johnson backs cut in air passenger duty to aid UK domestic flights

Boris Johnson is set to authorise a cut in the levy paid by airlines for domestic flights to help revive the beleaguered industry in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The prime minister will announce a review of air passenger duty with a view to halving the current level, according to senior Whitehall figures. The recommendation will form part of a wider Union Connectivity Review by Sir Peter Hendy, the chairman of Network Rail, to be published on Wednesday, proposing a new “UK Strategic Transport Network” to oversee British transport priorities. The UK previously belonged to the Trans-European Transport Network as an EU member, paying E488m a year towards the body created to better connect the bloc’s patchwork of infrastructure, including roads, railways and airports. The government will meanwhile make GBP20m available as development funding for new projects including upgrades to the North Wales Coast rail line and the A75 motorway in Scotland and a train link between the West Coast Mainline and the proposed High Speed 2 route.<br/>