Branson’s backing of APD campaign is ‘rallying call’ for industry, says Abta

Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays will carry a message on all e-tickets criticising APD, giving passengers the chance to petition their local MP against it via the www.afairtaxonflying.org/website, as reported by Travel Weekly yesterday.

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “We welcome the support of Sir Richard Branson for www.afairtaxonflying.org.

“Sir Richard has built his career on understanding the needs of his customers and with the backing for A Fair Tax on Flying’s summer campaign he is demonstrating that he is under no illusions just how difficult some people are finding the year-on-year increases in Air Passenger Duty.

“We hope that his backing will encourage many more thousands of passengers to support the campaign over the coming weeks as we aim to demonstrate to MPs just how important this issue is to their constituents.”

British Air Transport Association chief executive Simon Buck added: “Sir Richard’s backing is a reminder of just how seriously this issue is taken by all airlines here in the UK and internationally.

“We hope it acts as a spur to everyone in the travel industry here in the UK to visit www.afairtaxonflying.org and follow his lead by backing the campaign and demonstrating to government policy-makers just how seriously this issue is taken by both the industry and by passengers.”