From May 1, 2015, the UK will scrap air passenger duty (APD) for children under 12 years old traveling in economy class. From May 1, 2016, the exemption will be extended to children under 16. The changes were announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne Autumn Statement to Parliament—the last before next year’s general election.
The UK’s Board of Airline Representatives (BAR UK) has welcomed the cut.
BAR UK chief executive Dale Keller said: “This is the second reform to APD announced this year and demonstrates the growing awareness within government that the world’s highest air tax needs a severe pruning in order to boost the UK’s global competitiveness and create more jobs. Scrapping APD for children not only benefits UK families, but also stimulates growth in inbound tourism.”
EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall said: “This will provide savings of £13 per child on flights to destinations in the UK and Europe and as much as £69 on our longer flights to Egypt and Tel Aviv. We support anything which makes travel easier and more affordable for our passengers and we hope this is the first step towards the complete abolition of APD.”
She added that “the UK currently has the highest air passenger taxes in the world. APD is tax on travel and has a proven, negative impact on UK tourism, investment and business activity. Abolishing APD would boost the UK economy and pay for itself by increasing revenues from other sources. We call on all political parties to commit to the complete abolition of this damaging tax.”
Virgin Atlantic CEO Craig Kreeger said this was “another step on the long road to reform of this economically damaging tax following the banding changes last March.” He stressed there was “a growing body of evidence demonstrating the huge benefits, both to the traveling public and the UK economy, of reducing or abolishing APD across the whole of the UK.”