News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Aug. 28, 2012: Keith Williams, the CEO of British Airways, has written to frequent flyers of the airline to voice his disagreement with the UK’s Air Passenger Duty.
In the last six years, wrote Williams, the APD or the taxes paid by airlines for each passenger departing a UK airport, has risen more than 300 per cent on many routes – while inflation has increased barely 20 percent.
“This level of increase has no justification and no international parallel. Yet the UK Government has firm plans to keep on raising APD every year to 2017,” stated Williams.
He noted that some customers are now paying £184 for a single journey, while the cost for families taking their annual holiday has sky-rocketed.
“In 2006, a family of four flying from the UK to the Caribbean would pay £80 in APD – today they would pay £324 in World Traveller, or £648 in World Traveller Plus, Club World, or First,” wrote Williams in an email letter to flyers.
“This level of increase has no justification and no international parallel. Yet the UK Government has firm plans to keep on raising APD every year to 2017.”
He urged each flyer to visit www.afairtaxonflying.org and click on “Not a UK Resident?”. This will generate an automatic letter to George Osborne, the UK minister responsible for APD, and endorse a call stating that the tax is now far too high and inflicting real damage on the UK’s efforts to move out of recession.
“This is an important campaign – and I hope you will support us in it,” added Williams.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization has been at the forefront of lobbying for its members against a rise in the APD, which has already caused an impact on the region, including on nations like Barbados.
