Air Passenger Duty or APD has been hitting the news in recent days. Some of the major airlines (easyJet, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways) made a call for the charges to be scrapped. They have argued that rather than benefitting from any revenue that is raised, it is detrimental to the UK economy and the travel industry.
How much is APD?
The tax charge is applied to every flight that originates in the UK. Costs have soared steeply since the tax was first introduced back in 1994. Originally, customers were charged between £5 and £40 for APD. Now the costs have escalated to between £24 and £170. The bands which define the charges applied to your flights are determined by the distance of each country’s capital city from London. View this table to see which countries that fall into each band.
Generally it’s pretty straightforward. Short haul flights fall into A and B categories and long haul flights dominate categories C and D. There are some thoroughly surprising anomalies to be found though. You may be able to go on a more exotic holiday for a cheaper price than you thought.
Unexpected destinations to avoid APD
The amount of APD you will be charged is the same if you travel to Egypt, or anywhere in the USA. Due to the proximity of Washington DC to London, the whole of the USA is classified as Band B with the associated cost of £60. You could fly 5,456 miles from London to LA and only pay £60, as opposed to the higher charge of £75 for a band C flight.
It also costs £60 per economy ticket to fly to Egypt. This is due to the location of Cairo in relation to London. It costs £240 for a family of four in APD taxes. You would think that Turkey and Egypt would both be in the same band right? Wrong! Turkey falls into the cheaper band A. This results in a staggering £192 saving for a family of four flying economy class.
Combat APD charges
People who love their long haul holidays have discovered a way to combat the high charges for bands C and D by flying indirectly. They catch a flight to a band A destination and then fly onward to their final destination using a different airline. This requires plenty of research, but could be worth doing if you are up to the challenge.
Whether or not APD will be scrapped or if it will be revamped or replaced by a “per plane” tax remains to be seen. In the meantime, give this some thought before you decide where you jet off of on your next holiday.
