Fight starts over flight tax rises

Organised by airline and airport groups, the campaign coincides with the release of a survey showing three in four people oppose APD rises.

Campaigners wearing T-shirts with the message “Hands off our Holiday, Mr Taxman” were handing out leaflets at a number of UK airports.

APD rose last November and is set to rise again next year.

The campaign is backed by the Airport Operators Association (AOA), the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR-UK), and the British Air Transport Association (BATA).

AOA chief executive Darren Caplan said: “Our message to the Chancellor is that enough is enough. APD has already gone up by 325 per cent on long-haul flights and 140 per cent on short-haul flights in the last five years.”

BAR-UK chief executive Mike Carrivick said: “The UK already has the highest rate of flight tax in the world. Why should families be discriminated against for wanting to fly off on a hard-earned break once a year?”