UK: Cost of flights to rise as Rishi Sunak prepares to raise air passenger duty

Travellers to destinations including Australia, South Africa and Japan can expect to pay more to fly, as Rishi Sunak prepares to overhaul air passenger duty in next week’s budget to reflect the environmental damage wrought by long-haul flights. The chancellor is keen to burnish his green credentials after a week in which he was accused of failing to back Boris Johnson’s net-zero pledges with sufficient resources. It is understood that he will announce that a reform of the tax, mooted earlier this year, will go ahead, with a higher rate levied on the longest journeys. Air passenger duty (APD) is paid by airlines, who tend to pass much of the costs on to their customers. It is currently charged in two bands, to destinations under 2,000 miles and above 2,000 miles, with business class passengers paying more. The maximum levied per passenger is currently due to rise to GBP554 next April. In a consultation document published alongside the March budget, the treasury set out several options for reforming APD. Its favoured approach was a new, three-band structure, with destinations more than 6,000 miles away facing the highest charge. There is also expected to be a new, lower rate for domestic flights. Such a move is likely to be sold as encouraging levelling up and protecting the Union by fostering connectivity between the nations and regions – though it could be controversial where there are viable public transport alternatives such as train routes.<br/>