Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce that APD will be devolved to Wales in his budget on March 16.

But Bristol said that this move could cost the south west England economy up to £843 million and more than 1,500 jobs over the next decade.

The airport has launched a campaign, A Fair Flight For The South West, to draw attention to the potential impact of Bristol losing traffic and flights to nearby Cardiff following the devolution of APD.

Bristol has carried out research showing that passenger numbers could drop by 25% by 2020 and risk losing around one-third of its current 133 routes if APD is scrapped in Wales.

Robert Sinclair, the airport’s chief executive, is calling for Osborne to scrap the devolution of APD to Wales and will be campaigning on this issue in the run-up to the budget.

“It’s not an anti-Welsh thing, we just want a level playing field across the UK with APD rates,” said Sinclair. “We want the chancellor to hear that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

“If this tax is devolved to Wales and scrapped, we will be put at a significant commercial disadvantage to Cardiff airport, which is owned by the Welsh government and 60 miles away from Bristol airport.

“Even if limited to long-haul flights, there would be a significant impact on more than 100,000 passengers who use European hubs and it would jeopardise plans to launch direct long-haul flights in the near future.”

Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged the potential impact on English regional airports of devolving APD to Scotland and Wales during last year’s general election campaign.

The government launched a “discussion” paper looking at the issue last summer, with three suggested potential solutions: devolving or varying APD rates within England, or providing aid to regional airports.

Sinclair said he expected the results of this paper to also be announced during the budget.

“We don’t believe any of these options really work well,” he added. “If APD is devolved to Wales, we will demand an equal rate of APD across the UK.”