What is Air Passenger Duty (APD)?
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is a tax that is charged to any passenger travelling from a UK airport onboard an aircraft of more than 20 seats.
Where does the money from APD go?
The revenue from APD goes straight to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The money is not used for any direct improvements in aviation, airport infrastructure or environmental benefit.
Do other countries pay a similar sort of tax?
The UK and Ireland are the only EU countries to imposed this sort of fee. However the charge in Ireland is substantially lower (2 for flights not more than 300 kilometres from Dublin Airport and 10 on flights to any other destination.) The Dutch and Belgian governments decided to introduce similar kinds of taxes, but have since decided to withdrawn them. So while opinion is changing against APD-type taxes in mainland Europe, the UK government is going in the opposite direction.
When was APD introduced and how much will it increase by?
APD was introduced in 1994. APD rates for economy class were set at £5 for most European destinations and £20 for elsewhere. Business class was charged in the same way but a higher rate of £10 and £40 respectively. Then in 2007, the then Chancellor Gordon Brown doubled APD seeing the Government tax take increase from £1bn to nearly £2bn. Now the Government is planning two further tax increases this year and next year which will see APD rise by 113% or an extra £90 on some long-haul flights.
How much will I pay?
To see how much you will have to pay extra in tax, see our list of tax increases here: