New UK Air Tax Could Rise Flying Costs For British Families

A new air tax that is still in the planning stages could hit British families hard and raise their costs of travelling abroad.

Calculations by The British Air Transport Association estimate that a British family will be looking at charges of £250 to simply leave the UK from 2011, currently it is £160.

The new announcement is after a consultation period on government proposals to introduce the new aviation duty that will replace the current Air Passenger Duty. The new tax would raise the government over £3.5 billion from 2011-12 which would be a substantial hike over the current tax pricing.

The concerns are that the new taxes will penalise long haul carriers and also encourage journeys that are indirect which will result in longer journeys for passengers and more pollution for airliners.

Published by: Jon Vickery