EasyJet this week declared long-haul flying “is under-taxed” as it renewed calls for the government to move to a per plane form of Air Passenger Duty (APD) that would charge more.
The budget carrier’s head of regulatory affairs, Chris Gadsden, told Transport Times’ aviation conference in London on Wednesday: “Long-haul traffic does not pay its way. Long-haul and medium-haul flights are under-taxed.”
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer joined easyJet in supporting a per plane duty (PPD). “APD is a stupid tax,” he said. Tanzer slammed APD for its impact on the Caribbean and other long-haul destinations, and warned that increasing rates in line with Treasury forecasts risked taking more than two million outbound passengers out of flying.
Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway conceded APD was “doing great damage to the Caribbean” but said the rate on short-haul flights should be increased.
Gadsden argued that APD on short-haul flights was subsidising international transfer passengers, who don’t pay it, traffic from regional airports to Heathrow, and long-haul flights.
He rejected the argument that a move to PPD would lead passengers to avoid it by flying long-haul via the Continent or the Middle East, saying they should face an additional tax.
However, Ridgway suggested the government would retain APD but under a different name. “The last government got scared of the impact of PPD on the UK economy,” he said. “The new government is running into the same issues, which
is why it has moved from unequivocal support for PPD to consulting on it. We are talking to the government about reforms to APD.”