The UK government has announced an increase in air passenger duty (APD) in the autumn Budget – with passengers paying £2 more for the cheapest seats and 50 per cent more to fly on private jets.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves announced the rise in flight tax on Wednesday (30 October) in the latest hit to holidaymakers.
APD rates, the tax that passengers aged 16 and over must pay when flying from most UK airports, increase each year with the forecast Retail Price Index (RPI) and are adjusted in line with inflation.
The chancellor said that APD had “not kept up with inflation in recent years”.
Although the next rise will be introduced from 1 April 2025, raised rates announced in yesterday’s Budget – £15 for short-haul international flights – will come into effect from 1 April 2026.
Here’s everything plane passengers need to know.
What is air passenger duty (APD)?
APD is a tax on airlines and aircraft operators automatically charged for passengers flying from a United Kingdom or Isle of Man airport to both domestic and international destinations.
The duty was introduced in 1994 by Chancellor Kenneth Clarke to offset the environmental impact of air travel and charged by travel distance – initially £5 per economy passenger for European flights and £10 for long-haul flights.
Rates are determined by two factors: cabin class and the destination of the flight.
The lowest or economy class seats (less than 40 inches from the front of one seat to the front of the other) pay a reduced rate.
In anything but basic economy, a higher rate is payable – and all passengers aged two or over must pay it.
Planes weighing over 20 tonnes which are equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers – private jets – pay the highest APD rate.
As for the four destination bands, the domestic band applies to travel in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland only.
International bands charge based on the distance flown from London to the destination’s capital city – Band A (0 to 2,000 miles) includes all destinations in the EU and EEA, Band B (2,001 to 5,500 miles) adds holiday hotspots such as Egypt and Barbados and Band C (over 5,500 miles) includes anywhere else such as Australia and New Zealand.
What is the current rate of air passenger duty?
These are the current rates for APD until 31 March 2025: