IATA has opposed a proposal from the UK Home Office which outlines a 60% increase in the cost of UK Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs)
The current price of an ETA stands at £10 ($12.19), but the proposed changes would raise it to £60 ($73.13). An ETA, which is a digital travel authorisation rather than a visa, allows eligible individuals to travel to the UK but does not guarantee entry.
“Proposing to increase ETA costs just a week after the system was introduced is bewildering,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.
Walsh added: “Gouging these travellers with a 60% increase in the ETA is a very bad start. The added cost would come on top of the Air Passenger Duty (ADP)—the biggest travel tax in the world—which itself will increase again in April.”
Aviation and tourism in the UK currently support 1.6 million jobs, providing $160.7 billion to the UK’s GDP.