Thomson Airways, easyJet and Monarch are among the airlines that have promised to refund APD for children booked on flights from May 1 next year.

The move came following chancellor George Osborne’s announcement that APD would be scrapped for children aged under 12 for all economy flights from 2015, which will be extended to all of those under 16 from March 1, 2016.

Thomson said in a statement: “In line with the new legislation, we will refund any APD that is no longer applicable for the booking and reflect the changes in Thomson and First Choice holiday prices moving forward.

“We still believe further reform is required to ensure the UK aviation industry remains competitive with other markets and remain fully supportive of the Fair Tax on Flying campaign.”

Monarch Group’s chief executive Andrew Swaffield said it would also be refunding APD for customers who have already booked seats for children aged between two and 11 on flights departing from the UK from May 1 onwards.

"Today’s decision will help make an annual holiday more affordable for families at a minimal cost to the government"

“Where customers have booked a package holiday with a deposit only, the final holiday price will reflect the changes announced,” added Swaffield.

“The tax on children’s flights is an added strain on family budgets and today’s decision will help make an annual holiday more affordable for families at a minimal cost to the government.

“We hope that this positive move will enable more families to enjoy a holiday abroad, and we will be reflecting this change in our pricing on bookings through Monarch Airlines and Monarch Travel Group’s package holidays.”

EasyJet will also be refunding APD payments on forward bookings and chief executive Carolyn McCall said the move should be “the first step towards the complete abolition of APD”.

“We support anything which makes travel easier and more affordable for our passengers,” said McCall.

Flybe’s chief executive Saad Hammad welcomed the government’s move but called it “tinkering at the edges”.

“It represents a missed opportunity by the chancellor to show that he is serious about the economic regeneration of the UK regions,” he added.

“Despite continuing to engage with the government to emphasise the unfairness of APD, the needs of our regional passengers are still being ignored.”