MPs will discuss the impact of Air Passenger Duty during a half-day debate in the House of Commons on November 1.
MPs Henry Smith and Priti Patel, backed by a cross-party group of MPs, were yesterday granted time to debate APD.
The debate has been won following growing parliamentary backing for a Treasury-led review into the economic impact of APD.
The motion to be put before MPs calls on the Treasury “to commission a comprehensive study into the full economic impact of air passenger duty in the UK…and calls on the government to freeze Air Passenger Duty while this study is being carried out and to use the evidence from the study to reform air passenger duty so that it is internationally competitive and supports economic growth, investment and jobs.”
Smith, MP for Crawley, said: “This debate is an important opportunity for MPs to voice their concerns about an issue that greatly impacts upon ordinary families, inward investment and the wider UK economy as a whole.
“I know this is an issue of concern for my constituents and it’s time for the Government to listen to the people and carry-out a long overdue impact-assessment into APD.”
Abta head of public affairs Luke Poland said: “We believe the UK having the highest APD in the world makes it harder for us to attract overseas tourists, makes our goods and services more expensive and makes recovery harder.
“This debate will be a chance for MPs to echo the concerns of nearly 300,000 people who have emailed to call for a review.
“It is time the government listened and commissioned a review – they don’t have anything to lose and a lot of jobs across the economy to gain potentially.”
The development comes 19 weeks into an initiative by campaign group A Fair Tax on Flying encouraging travellers and businesses to contact MPs about current levels of APD and calling for a Treasury review into its wider economic impact.