Airport pushes for APD rethink
Birmingham Airport has urged the Chancellor to abandon the 'one-size-fits-all' approach to air passenger duty (APD).
The call comes following the government's decision to reduce tax on long haul flights from airports in Northern Ireland.
Paul Kehoe, chief executive of Birmingham Airport, was part of a collaboration which wrote to George Osborne to recommend the government rethink its policy on APD.
The signatures - which included Birmingham Airport, Bristol Airport, the Manchester Airport Group, Flybe and Jet 2 – said it "warmly welcomed" the Chancellor’s decision to reduce long haul APD tax and "trusts that this will pave the way for reductions on services from all the UK regions outside of London".
The Chancellor’s decision on APD for Northern Ireland was made in response to the threat that the New York service from Belfast Airport would stop because of high taxes. Those flying on this service from 1 November will pay the same level of tax as those travelling on short-haul routes.
Kehoe said: "The government has already decided against airport expansion elsewhere and has indicated that existing spare capacity regions should be utilised. However, if a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to aviation taxes continues, they will simply be unable to deliver on this.
"We have argued for some time that APD has a disproportionate impact on the regions, including those that rely on crucial lifeline air services. They have a lower percentage of business travellers or inbound tourists than the London airports and have been hit hard by the economic downturn. By reducing the APD it would support economic growth and the rebalancing of the UK economy."
