Philip Hammond announced the change in today’s Budget, with the government insisting that 95% of air passengers who annually fly out of the UK would not see a rise in fares as a result.
The Chancellor said the freeze would be paid for by increases in APD on premium class tickets and private jets.
Alan Wardle, Abta’s director of public affairs welcomed the move but said the government had “missed an opportunity” not to cut APD.
“We recognise there were tough decisions for the government in this Budget and freezing APD for leisure travellers is a welcome step forward. However, we believe this is a missed opportunity to decisively cut this tax,” he said.
“We will continue to have the highest levels of APD in Europe and amongst the highest in the world. We will continue to push for a substantial cut which will help travellers and ensure the UK is well placed to trade with the rest of the world post Brexit.”
“We are pleased the government also announced in the Budget that it is introducing an independent review into consumer protections when airlines fail and look forward to working closely with the review body.”
Meanwhile Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the industry association that represents UK carriers, said the move was “simply a sleight of hand move by the Treasury”.
“The total tax take from APD is not being cut – currently at £3.3 billion, it will hit £4 billion a year in 2022/23 and remains the highest in the world, and is far more than those levied by our competitors, especially in Europe,” he added. "Post-Brexit this will be more important than ever and that’s why today is a massive missed opportunity.”
