Air passenger duty (APD) in the UK could be raised on flights from congested airports in the south east as part of a differential levy plan under consideration by the new Government.
"It is not inconceivable that our tax reform might look at a higher tax to fly from congested south east airports," UK minister of state for aviation Theresa Villiers said yesterday at the New Direction for Aviation Policy conference in London.
Charging a higher rate to fly from airports in the south east, such as London Heathrow or Gatwick, would create more of a balance between these airports and the UK's regional airports, says Villiers.
"A key part of our approach is to create conditions for regional airports to flourish, and this also has the potential to help relieve overcrowding at south east airports," she adds.
The Government said earlier this year that it would consider replacing APD with a per-aircraft tax.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
