Book Now - While Long-Haul Flights are Still Affordable!

If you have always dreamed of seeing places like Australia, New Zealand or the South Pacific you’d better get packing as the government has plans to raise departure tax.  Although the increased tax is being packaged as a way to reduce carbon emissions (which is good thing) it is also an easy way to fill the echoing void in Treasury coffers. 

The Air Passenger Duty (APD), also known as Departure Tax, is set to increase by 10 percent from November 2009 and in some cases double by 2010.  The APD was introduced in 1994 and has increased several times, eventually doubling during 2007.  Currently, the APD is based on a two-tier system - one for EEA countries/Switzerland - and the second for all other countries.  Plans to tax per plane, rather than per passenger, appear to have been abandoned but airlines would just pass on the increased tax to passengers anyway!

The new APD is based on a four-tier system which depends on the distance travelled.  Figures published show that passengers travelling to Australia from November 2009 could pay considerably more, with the full impact of the increases hitting by 2010.  The increased APD for a flight of more than 6,000 miles could translate to a rise from £80 to as much as £170 for Premium seats (approx. half that for Economy seats). 

Passengers flying with the budget carriers will not notice much difference, with the lowest APD tier (up to 2000 miles) increasing from £10 to £11 in November 2009, and by a further pound in November 2010. 

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