Manchester Airport passengers to pay more for certain flights
07.03.2024 - 20:07
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Flights from Manchester Aiport are set to get more expensive, following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement of an increase in air passenger duty to help pay for wider cuts to National Insurance.
Premium seats such as business and first class will draw a higher price from April 2025, which the Chancellor said would better reflect the high rate of inflation in the UK. This will bump up the price of already expensive seating, including business class, but domestic and short-haul trips are expected to be less affected by the tax increase.
Air Passenger Duty raises around £3.8bn for the Treasury each year as a tax levied on all flights originating in the UK and it varies depending on the type of seat and the length of the voyage. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said during the Spring Budget that this was a one-off rise, only affecting “non-economy flights, only to account for high inflation in recent years.”
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This rise in tax for the aviation industry goes against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's previous pledge in September to not place any further taxes on flying. Chief executive of industry body Airlines UK, Tim Alderslade said this would make British airports "even less competitive on the global stage, with aviation taxes and airport charges already amongst the highest in the world.”
Air Passenger Duty can be split into four categories, domestic flights and Band A-C flights. Band A includes all destination 2000 miles or less from London, while B includes all flights 2001-5500 miles from the capital, and C any flight more than 5,500 miles, including those with connections.
All of these flights were already due to increase