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Scotland will bear the brunt of APD hike
Scottish travellers will bear the brunt of the increased Air Passenger Duty, according to the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association.
The SPAA said passengers leaving the UK will only pay the increased charge once, but a Scottish customer that has to buy a separate ticket to travel to and from London in order to travel onward to another country will be forced to pay APD three times – once on the flight from Scotland to London, again on the outbound European or long-haul flight, and yet again on the homebound connecting flight back to Scotland.
If a through-ticket is purchased then only one charge will apply, but this is frequently not possible, particularly for the thousands of travellers who now regularly use low-cost airlines.
In a statement issued by the SPAA today, president Sandy MacPherson said: “The tax increase is unfounded and ill-conceived, with no prior travel sector consultation – on time scales for its introduction, or its inconsistent treatment of passengers.
“While we understand fully that this tax is imposed by the UK Government, once again Scottish travellers will be penalised more than their counterparts in the South, and bear the brunt of this inequity.”
“For families travelling on holiday from Scotland, this represents a huge increase in costs, which will not even be allocated to ‘green’ initiatives, but go straight to the Exchequer,” added MacPherson
“Many tour operators who were already planning ‘environmental offsetting’ investment have now abandoned such schemes as the overall cost will not be sustainable.”
The SPAA said there will be chaos at Britain’s airports when the tax comes into effect.
APD will double on February 1 from £5 to £10 on intra-EU flights and from £20 to £40 on long-haul for each economy class sector flown.
Passengers who booked before announcement will still have to pay, causing increased pressure on travel agency and airport staff and increased collection costs.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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