Heathrow Airport urges UK Government to scrap domestic aviation tax

London Heathrow Airport has urged the UK Government to abolish domestic air passenger duty (APD) on all UK flights.

The proposal is based on a new research carried out by Frontier Economics that revealed UK passengers pay an extra £225m in aviation tax on domestic flights compared to passengers from many other European countries.

Most countries in Europe impose little to no tax on internal flights in order to bolster their economies and support domestic industry.

However, the APD charged to passengers in the UK is the highest tax of its kind across the continent.

The proposed idea is part of Heathrow’s newly-launched nine-point plan, which focuses on connecting more of the country to global growth and prepares the economy outside London for Brexit.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “Preparing for a post-Brexit economy means this budget must include practical, deliverable and binding plans to support all of the UK.

“With an ambitious new nine-point connectivity plan, Heathrow is doing its part to connect all of Britain to growth – it’s now time for the government to act.

“Abolishing APD on domestic flights is a bold move that would supercharge British competitiveness, make it cheaper for British businesses to get to London and beyond and ensure every part of our country can prosper in the future.”

Eliminating taxes on return domestic flight services from Heathrow would save travellers at least £24m each year at the airport alone.

This would also help support an 8% rise in demand that would make many new domestic connections commercially viable for airlines.

In addition, abolishing domestic APD will enable the expanded airport to connect to at least 14 destinations across the UK, as well as commence new flight services to Liverpool, Humberside and Newquay.

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Image: Aircraft. Photo: courtesy of Heathrow Airports Limited.