An e-petition calling for a freeze on Air Passenger Duty has been created to send a clear signal to the government ahead of the autumn Budget statement next Tuesday.
The online poll by the boss of travel software firm Multicom comes a week after EasyJet, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways lanched the Axe The Tax campaign calling for APD to be scrapped claiming it is hugely damaging to the UK economy.
Multicom managing director John Howell urged everyone in the travel industry to get behind the campaign and support the e-petition calling for a freeze on APD. While the company supports demands for the abolition of APD, Howell believes the case has yet to be made for it to be scrapped.
Instead, he feels calls for a further freeze in the short term is more likely to be heard by the government if the industry supports his e-petition in large numbers. The issue may be selected to be the subject of a debate in parliament if 100,000 signatures can be secured.
Howell said: “There is a growing consensus in the travel industry that further increases to APD will do nothing but heap yet more damage on our struggling economy.
“I very much welcome the intervention by the four airlines and their joint approach to the problem. For far too long we have failed as an industry to lobby government effectively and it is high time we presented a more united front.
“However, we have a long way to go to convince government that there is a case for abolishing or even reducing APD but we can at least seek to minimise any additional damage by calling for another freeze.
“I hope every tour operator, airline and travel agent will encourage its staff to support our campaign and encourage them to sign the e-petition.
“If we can reach the magic 100,000 mark before the Chancellor stands up to make his budget statement on November 29 it will send him a very strong and powerful message on behalf of our industry.”
The e-petition comes less than a month after Multicom raised concerns about further increases in APD that are expected to be announced by the Chancellor George Osborn next week. Details of the petition can be found on the Multicom website.