Airlines UK and the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK have teamed up to appeal to chancellor Philip Hammond.

Airlines UK chief executive Tim Alderslade, and Board of Airline Representatives in the UK chief executive Dale Keller, said: “The UK’s airline organisations welcomed the announcement from the government that approval would be granted to the building of an additional runway at Heathrow, but the truth is that this capacity will not be operational for another ten years at least.

“In the meantime there are airports across the UK with plenty of spare capacity, and the government needs to do more to broaden their appeal to would-be airline customers.

“At the very top of the list of things they could prioritise – alongside improving surface connectivity – is dealing with APD.
 
“In the post-Brexit world, when we are looking to strike deals and see the UK become a standard-bearer of global free trade, it is becoming increasingly untenable for the government to continue to levy excessively high levels of APD.

“Only aviation can connect the UK to the emerging markets that are seen as vital to our continued prosperity, and retaining an uncompetitive passenger tax is an open invitation to our international rivals to steal a march on us. Brexit has changed everything and we will not be able to take full advantage of the opportunities presented in terms of greater liberalisation unless action is taken now to become truly competitive.”