Call for transparency over airline tax and duty refund charges
Brits are losing out on millions of pounds a year by failing to reclaim the tax and duty paid on cancelled flight tickets.
According to an InsureandGo poll of 2070 people, conducted by YouGov this summer, nearly half of travellers (48%) are not aware they can claim it back, while 3% said they were put off by the high administration charge from the airline.
The insurance company is calling on airlines to be more transparent about how they calculate the refund charges, which can be as high as £30.
Managing Director Perry Wilson said: “The amount of tax and duty paid on each flight people take has increased dramatically and it can now be as much as £150 of the cost of a long haul journey.
“Passengers are estimated to pay £972 million in Air Passenger Duty for 2006/07 and £2.117 billion in 2007/08. If you cancel your ticket, it really does pay to claim back the tax and duty you have paid on it.”
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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