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Flybe failure: SPAA calls for complete review of APD
The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association said Flybe’s collapse is calling for a complete review of Air Passenger Duty after the failure of Flybe.
SPAA president Joanne Dooey described the airline’s collapse as ‘a disastrous blow for regional connectivity’, adding: "This is devastating for the industry."
She said: "An airline failure levy is something that the SPAA has long campaigned for.
"Had our suggestion that fares from all UK departures ringfence a simple £1 per ticket passenger levy been listened to when it was first raised 20 years ago, every single passenger who has ever lost money due to an airline failure could have been repatriated or refunded at no cost to the public purse.
"Along with our colleagues in the campaign group Fair Tax on Flying, we have lobbied for many years for a reduction in APD. The SPAA would go a stage further and ask for a complete review in the total structure of APD to protect fragile routes, support business and stimulate economic growth.
"Immediate intervention is needed, and we sincerely hope that there will be reduction in domestic APD in next week’s Budget, thus supporting the Government’s stated desire for regional connectivity.
"A more entrepreneurial approach to reducing or removing the tax, which the travel industry believes will encourage airlines to introduce more flights from UK airports, surely must come now in the face of Flybe, a major short haul operator, going out of business.
"Airlines are more likely to invest if the tax is reduced or removed. The Government still needs to look beyond the short term and think of the long-term health of our economy and our tourism industry.
"As Flybe provides a great number of short-haul flights connecting regional airports, the best outcome would be for another carrier to step in and provide these services, which provide essential connections for businesses, communities and tourism."
She added: "Our thoughts are with everyone who is affected by this, whether they are passengers, staff or affected third parties."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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