Government to tax aircraft rather than passengers
October 10, 2007The government has announced plans to levy a 'green' tax on individual flights rather than passengers.
Air passenger duty (APD), which every holidaymaker has to pay, was increased in February this year, with many critics arguing that it did not effectively tackle the issue of aviation emissions and unfairly penalised passengers.
Now the chancellor, Alistair Darling, has said that environmental taxes on air travel will be per plane, rather than per passenger. This will encourage airlines to ensure their flights are full and to invest in newer, cleaner planes.
Private jets will also be included in the new scheme, which will please those critics who have suggested that the ultra-rich unfairly escape the tax at the moment.
In the meantime, APD will be frozen at its current level until the change comes into effect in November 2009. The levy stands at £10 for economy passengers on flights within the EU (£20 for business class), and at £40 for economy class on long-haul flights (£80 in business class).
Andy Harrison, chief executive of easyJet, welcomed the change, saying: "We have long argued that the current structure of APD is in need of reform.
"A tax that penalises families but excludes private jets, and charges passengers travelling to Marrakech the same as those travelling to Melbourne, is just plain wrong… It is right to tax emissions, not passengers."
© Adfero Ltd
