Increases in air passenger duty this November and next will price 1.5 million people out of flying, according to aviation campaign group Flying Matters, reporting a Department for Transport answer to a question in Parliament last week.
Flying Matters chairman and former Labour minister Brian Wilson said on Monday: “Millions of ordinary families will be priced out of flying.”
APD is due to rise from £40 to £45 to the US and £50 to the Caribbean when the government introduces four bands of rates in November, then £60 to the US and £75 to the Caribbean from November 2010.
However, the DfT forecast referred to by minister Paul Clark in Parliament on June 23 does not foresee an immediate reduction in numbers by 1.5 million passengers.
It suggests the APD rise will lead to 1.4 million fewer passengers a year taking short-haul flights by 2030, when passenger numbers are projected to have doubled – a fall of about 1% on the total. The DfT forecast suggests no reduction at all in medium and long-haul passengers, who will pay the higher rates of APD.
The travel industry has vowed to step up its campaign against the tax increase, particularly from 2010, with destinations such as the Caribbean alarmed at the potential impact on visitor numbers.