The airline industry welcomed news the long-awaited plans to review Air Passenger Duty will finally happen.
A government consultation will take place this spring and look at all options, including a new lower rate for domestic flight segments. It could lead to almost halving the rate of APD by bringing in a flat £7 rate for all domestic flights.
Airlines have been calling for a reduction in Air Passenger Duty which was blamed as a factor in the demise of regional airline Flybe.
The tax is currently a minimum of £13 per passenger for flights from a UK airport.
Airport Operators Association Chief Executive Karen Dee said: “Domestic aviation suffered a double-hit in the last year, with the collapse of Flybe and the Covid-19 pandemic, and this offers a glimmer of hope for the future.”
BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said: “We welcome the Government’s announcement of a consultation on reform of domestic APD. It is important that domestic connectivity is reinvigorated post-Covid as this is something which can really help power our economic recovery.
“The double taxation of domestic flights is an anomaly which is a real barrier to new routes being established and new connections being made between the regions and nations of the UK.”
