Chancellor ignores calls to cut APD
ABTA and the GTMC have expressed disappointment that the Chancellor has not heeded calls to cut Air Passenger Duty in the Budget.
His inaction means APD will rise in line with inflation for 2018/19 and rates for the following year will be set in the Autumn Statement.
ABTA said the Government should follow the lead of Scottish politicians, who are to reduce APD from 2018.
ABTA director of public affairs Alan Wardle said: "The Chancellor’s decision to go ahead with additional increases in APD is very disappointing.
"The post Brexit world in which we now live is a very different one from where we were 12 months ago.
"Levying sky-high taxes on aviation sends out the worst possible message as we look to build our business relationships and connections outside of Europe.
"APD also represents an unjustifiably high economic burden on hard-pressed family budgets and ABTA urges the Government to follow the lead of the Scottish Government and make a firm commitment to halving this retrogressive tax."
GTMC chief executive Paul Wait said: "We have long campaigned for reductions to APD which didn’t materialise in [yesterday’s] Budget.
"APD therefore remains a barrier to international business travel, both inbound and outbound, and actively works against businesses tying to grow internationally."
Newcastle International Airport chief executive Nick Jones fears his airport could lose between 500,000 and 900,000 passengers per year to Scottish rivals, which will benefit from plans over the border to scrap the tax, according to the Sunderland Echo.
Speaking ahead of the Budget, Jones said: "The impact of changes to APD in Scotland on both the airport and the North East economy is so great that we must raise this important issue back up the Government’s agenda.
"Our modelling suggests that if Scotland reduces the tax to zero then we could lose between 500,000 and 900,000 passengers per year. Our air services could also be affected and would make it difficult for the airport to grow."
In 2015, David Cameron, made it clear that the government would not allow airports and regions to be adversely impacted by the devolution of APD.
"We are not going to accept a situation where there’s unfair tax competition. We will do what’s necessary to make sure England’s regional airports can succeed," Jones said.
"We welcome the recent dialogue we have had with the Government and hope this will lead to the identification of an appropriate solution during the course of 2017."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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