UK air passengers travelling long distances could desert major UK airports if the Government fails to address the issue of high Air Passenger Duty (APD), according to an online poll.
The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) said that around 90% of people aged 16 to 64 that participated in the poll preferred Amsterdam and other non-UK airports to avoid the APD of £85 per passenger prevailing in Heathrow.
The Government plans to double the tax at British airports over the next 18 months rather than reducing the APD.
Expressing concern over the issue, BALPA general secretary Jim McAuslan stated that Amsterdam was scrapping its APD to attract more business from neighbouring countries, whereas the British Government was increasing its tax on air passengers.
BALPA is inviting different industries to work together for protesting against the Government scrap plan to increase APD as it would affect British jobs and cause downfalls to the UK’s economy when it needs a boost.
