MANX Airlines is to lobby the Government in an attempt to make the Isle of Man exempt from Air Passenger Duty.
The carrier has been encouraged by chancellor Gordon Brown’s decision to launch a consultation exercise to look at scrapping APD to remote areas of the UK (Travel Weekly November 15).
Brown has pinpointed the Scottish Highlands and Islands for the exercise but Manx believes the Isle of Man should also be exempt.
Manx commercial director Mike Bathgate said: “During the consultation period we intend to lobby for the Isle of Man to be similarly excluded.”
He argued APD penalises passengers who rely on flights to outlying areas. For example, Bathgate said the current £10 tax adds 20% to the cost of a Liverpool-Isle of Man fare but only 1% to the cost of a London-Warsaw flight. Brown will unveil how APD will be changed in the spring Budget.
He will bring in a charge for the return leg of domestic flights to meet European Union demands. Brown has pledged to look at a reduction of APD for low-cost services after strong lobbying from the industry under the F-Air Passenger Duty For All campaign and Travel Weekly.
The F-Air Passenger Duty For All lobby group is to meet Customs and Excise officials on December 6 to discuss cutting APD on low-cost flights.