The British Infrastructure Group (BIG) claims the tax acts directly against a policy of extending UK business links to the "farthest reaches of the globe", BBC News reports.

BIG said the tax, which is set to rise again in April to £150 for some long-haul flights, should be cut by 50%, then scrapped altogether.

Grant Shapps, chair of BIG and former international development minister, said Prime Minister Theresa May needed to honour a promise she gave on Monday to "forge a bold, new, confident future for ourselves in the world".

He said that reducing APD could provide an immediate "Brexit dividend" because the government would not have to wait until Article 50 is triggered to make the cut.

On economy class flights of over 2,000 miles, passengers pay £73 in tax, which will rise to £75 next year.

In a report, BIG cited industry figures that show UK APD for non-economy tickets is three times more expensive than France and four times higher than Germany.

Scotland is planning to reduce APD by 50% in 2018.

"APD has disproportionate effects on different tickets, disadvantaging flights to the Far East and especially to developing economies, where the cost of a plane ticket from London can be well over 10% tax," the report said.

"If the government is to act on its commitments, especially those of securing new trading partners outside the EU, it must make it as easy as possible to do business, conduct negotiations and to stimulate the exchange of people and skills.

"It cannot continue to actively make extra-European travel more expensive than it needs to be."