Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced an increase in air passenger duty (APD), with a 50% rise for the most expensive flights.
Announcing the increase in her first Budget on Wednesday, the Chancellor said that APD had ‘not kept up with inflation in recent years’.
She said there would be an increase of ‘no more than £2 per passenger’ for short-haul economy flights, but added: “I am taking a different approach when it comes to private jets, increasing the rate of air passenger duty by a further 50%.
Taking a swipe at former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sitting opposite her in the House of Commons as she made her announcement, the Labour Chancellor added: “That is equivalent of £450 per passenger for a private flight to, say California?”
These are the new rates for APD from April 2026:
These are the existing rates of APD:
From 2026, will be an extra £1 added to domestic economy flights, £2 on shortfall and £12 on the longest economy flights. The increase for the longest premium flights is a whopping £534 per person.
The Government is also planning to extend the higher tax to all private aircraft. Currently, it only applies to aircraft that are heavier than 20 tonnes and seat fewer than 19 passengers. The Government said it was committed to ensuring that operators of private aircraft ‘contribute fairly’ to public finances.
The Chancellor said the raise in APD, together with other measures announced in today’s Budget would rise a total of £40 billion and remove the need for the Government to borrow to fund day-to-day funding within two years. APD raised £3.8bn in the last financial year.
Earlier this month, ABTA’s Head of Public Affairs Luke Petherbridge said he was expecting APD to increase only by ‘slightly above’ inflation.
The post Chancellor deals blow with higher-than-expected air tax increase appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
Announcing the increase in her first Budget on Wednesday, the Chancellor said that APD had ‘not kept up with inflation in recent years’.
She said there would be an increase of ‘no more than £2 per passenger’ for short-haul economy flights, but added: “I am taking a different approach when it comes to private jets, increasing the rate of air passenger duty by a further 50%.
Taking a swipe at former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sitting opposite her in the House of Commons as she made her announcement, the Labour Chancellor added: “That is equivalent of £450 per passenger for a private flight to, say California?”
These are the new rates for APD from April 2026:
These are the existing rates of APD:
From 2026, will be an extra £1 added to domestic economy flights, £2 on shortfall and £12 on the longest economy flights. The increase for the longest premium flights is a whopping £534 per person.
The Government is also planning to extend the higher tax to all private aircraft. Currently, it only applies to aircraft that are heavier than 20 tonnes and seat fewer than 19 passengers. The Government said it was committed to ensuring that operators of private aircraft ‘contribute fairly’ to public finances.
The Chancellor said the raise in APD, together with other measures announced in today’s Budget would rise a total of £40 billion and remove the need for the Government to borrow to fund day-to-day funding within two years. APD raised £3.8bn in the last financial year.
Earlier this month, ABTA’s Head of Public Affairs Luke Petherbridge said he was expecting APD to increase only by ‘slightly above’ inflation.
The post Chancellor deals blow with higher-than-expected air tax increase appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
