The United Kingdom has what’s known as the Air Passenger Duty (APD), which is the highest passenger tax on air travel anywhere in the world (this is in addition to the carrier imposed surcharges that airlines like British Airways are known for).
We tend to see annual adjustments to this, typically around April, to reflect inflation. We’ve already known that the UK APD would be increasing as of April 1, 2025. We’ve now learned the details of the UK APD increase that goes into effect as of April 1, 2026, which will make tickets (especially in premium cabins) even more costly. Let’s go over the details.
In this post:
New UK APD rates as of April 1, 2025
As of April 1, 2025, the United Kingdom will be increasing the Air Passenger Duty for many types of tickets:
- The domestic economy APD will remain £7
- The domestic premium APD will increase by £2, from £14 to £16
- The short haul economy APD will remain £13
- The short haul premium APD will increase by £2, from £26 to £28
- The long haul economy APD will increase by £2, from £88 to £90
- The long haul premium APD will increase by £22, from £194 to £216
- The ultra long haul economy APD will increase by £2, £92 to £94
- The ultra long haul premium APD will increase by £22, from £202 to £224
As you can see, the increases to the APD for long haul and ultra long haul itineraries are pretty significant. This is described as a one-off adjustment for non-economy passengers, to account for high inflation in recent years, and to maintain the value of the APD in real terms. A few things to note:
- The premium APD applies for tickets in premium economy, business class, and first class
- For these purposes, long haul is defined as a journey of 2,001-5,500 miles, while ultra long haul is defined as a journey of 5,501+ miles
- The domestic and short haul APD won’t be adjusted in economy for 2025
- This is only one tax that applies on flights out of the UK, as there are plenty of other airport and customs taxes
UK APD increasing further in 2026
Not only is the UK Air Passenger Duty increasing in 2025, but we’ve already learned the details of a new APD price hike as of April 1, 2026. This will apply across the board, and the increases will be as follows, in comparison to the 2025 rates (which will already be higher than they are now):
- The domestic economy APD will increase by £1, from £7 to £8
- The domestic premium APD will remain £16
- The short haul economy APD will increase by £2, from £13 to £15
- The short haul premium APD will increase by £4, from £28 to £32
- The long haul economy APD will increase by £12, from £90 to £102
- The long haul premium APD will increase by £28, from £216 to £244
- The ultra long haul economy APD will increase by £14, £92 to £106
- The ultra long haul premium APD will increase by £29, from £224 to £253
As you can tell, most of the increases are mild, except in premium cabins on long haul flights. A tax of over £250 just for the privilege of getting on a long haul flight in a premium cabin is a pretty massive tax.
Which passengers have to pay the UK APD?
The UK Air Passenger Duty applies to any ticket originating in the UK — this means that if you’re simply transiting the UK on one ticket then you shouldn’t be on the hook for this.
Rather it’s charged based on having a journey originating in the UK (even if it’s the return portion of a ticket), regardless of where you’re connecting.
As you might expect, the UK APD is controversial:
- It’s a tax against those in the UK, rather than those who simply connect in the UK, as the latter group doesn’t have to pay this
- High taxes negatively impact demand for air travel, since it makes flying more expensive; this tax is bad for consumers and is also bad for airlines, as it lowers their margins
Bottom line
The UK Air Passenger Duty will be increasing again in the coming years, and we have all the details. As of April 1, 2025, we’re seeing a material increase to the APD for longer flights in premium cabins, which is described as a one-off adjustment to account for inflation. Then in 2026 we’re going to see yet another adjustment, and once again, premium cabins are hit hardest.
What do you make of the UK’s upcoming APD hikes?
Brexit turns out to be very costly, eh? Need money at some point to make ends meet there.
The UK is really doing an amazing job at making itself noncompetitive in the market, and not just this market. Just imagine having to pay those enormous taxes on top of a long haul ticket, just to end up on board British Airways. That's adding insult to injury.
These fees are already too high. I recently booked an upper class flight from NY to London using all points. I thought I h=was getting a free flight, but the taxes and fees came to $2,300 US dollars. That's an expensive free flight and it makes me wonder what the purpose of points may be.
Just being curious here, but have you tried to see how a different routing turned out? Instead of a direct long haul flight, adding a stop in for example FRA, AMS or CGD?I guess it may save a few hundred pound.
Question:
What happens with the TAX if you fly economy and then you´re upgraded to Business Class ?
If it's a ticketed upgrade that you have requested (e.g. using an upgrade voucher) you have to pay it. If it's an upgrade initiated by the airline (e.g. op-ups due to overbooking, space-available upgrades for SUMA Platinum elites on UX) it's free.
Thanks!
To those saying it is harming the UK tourist industry and people will simply fly from elsewhere etc…. Have you seen how many business class seats leave just LHR every day on long haul flights? And the duty has hardly been insignificant this past few years! It will likely make next to no difference on uptake of premium seats. If you are paying a few thousand, what’s an extra £20!
And like a few...
To those saying it is harming the UK tourist industry and people will simply fly from elsewhere etc…. Have you seen how many business class seats leave just LHR every day on long haul flights? And the duty has hardly been insignificant this past few years! It will likely make next to no difference on uptake of premium seats. If you are paying a few thousand, what’s an extra £20!
And like a few others have said, the 2025 rise was confirmed by previous government. The 2026 rise is a current government one.
Exactly. As a practical matter, how many times will someone fly long-haul to the UK? If it's once a year, is 20 quid something to complain about? If it's eight times a year . . . well, if someone is flying long-haul eight times a year, they probably have enough money to cover the 160 quid. Ha.
You may have heard this week (from the Parliament) that the UK is in dire straits financially.
A £22 billion black hole was found in the govt financing from conservatives to labour. Not much compared to the USA, but still they have never reported such.
They are in deficit and they (the govt) are raising taxes very much and all other avenues of tax will be increased, Airports, entries to the UK, plane taxes and such.
If they are in Dire Straits, then I understand why they want Money for nothing. ;)
Pretty natural to tax activities with large negative externalities. Keep it up UK.
Mr. Trump proposes to move all taxation to tariffs. Keep it up USA.
So how is the government of your mr trump going to pay for thing then? Just put on the printer and produce a few more dollar bills?
Tickets from London are similarly priced to USA than from other European hubs. It’s such a competitive hub that the tax is hardly noticed. I used to fly from Dublin for long haul many years ago as fares were significantly lower - but no longer, yet Dublin has no tax.
As for all the haters spouting nonsense about the high costs of the UK, the cost of living is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than USA. Having just...
Tickets from London are similarly priced to USA than from other European hubs. It’s such a competitive hub that the tax is hardly noticed. I used to fly from Dublin for long haul many years ago as fares were significantly lower - but no longer, yet Dublin has no tax.
As for all the haters spouting nonsense about the high costs of the UK, the cost of living is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than USA. Having just returned from a trip stateside, I’ve seen the eye watering prices in Walmart, ridiculous high hotel and parking prices in Boston, sky high cellphone bills, rent, health insurance premiums, restaurant prices (not to mention the rip off tips) etc. Then there’s the crazy high prices USA citizens pay for internal flights compared to the bargains we have on EasyJet and Ryanair connecting us to Europe.
So of course nobody wants to pay more tax …but you have to look at the whole picture.
US per capita GDP is over 50% higher than the UK figure (roughly $80k vs $50k), is anyone surprised that things are more expensive there?
Plus our wonderful tax system means that, between tax, pension contributions and NI, workers see less than half of any gross earnings in excess of £50k. Of course, the UK is a pretty good place to live if you happen to be a multimillionaire with elaborate arrangements minimising your tax liability.
The cost of living is significantly higher in the United States because wages and quality of life haven't stagnated since the 1970s like they have in the UK.
And on top of this , from mid 2025 there will be a VISA fee to be paid
Ten quid every two years. Are you (***) serious?
It should be noted that unlike many other taxes, the APD is NOT levied on the passenger, but rather on the transporting carrier who almost universally choose to pass it on to the customer.
Actually, the last point isn't true. Compare prices out of, say, LON, PAR and AMS and you'll often find that LON is no more expensive. In other words, the airlines are absorbing the APD, which is what you'd expect in a competitive environment.
No, they are not (in almost every case). The APD is charged as tax code GB on the ticket and is collected by the airline from the passenger, and then remitted to the tax authorities.
What @simmonad seems to be saying is that the top-line ticket price is the same to the UK as to other countries . . . to be competitive. To do this, the UK carrier lowers its base fare by the amount of the tax, then the tax is added as a separate line item, and the top-line ticket price ends up the same.
I have friends who live in the UK - I haven't seen them since the implementation of this acutely abusive tax on long haul flights. I once stopped in London on a connect for a couple of days and was charged the tax. That was the last time!
I guess the best plan is to fly to an alternate airport and then take an economy shuttle or the chunnel for a day or two...
I have friends who live in the UK - I haven't seen them since the implementation of this acutely abusive tax on long haul flights. I once stopped in London on a connect for a couple of days and was charged the tax. That was the last time!
I guess the best plan is to fly to an alternate airport and then take an economy shuttle or the chunnel for a day or two with only hand luggage or a big coat with pockets.
UK continues to shoot itself in the foot with these stupid taxes. Their tourism must be in shambles as a result of these ecofreaco fees.
The UK had 38 million tourist in 2023 and increasing year by year. Every time I’m in central London it’s very busy especially during school holidays.
My immediate reaction is to resent this impost, but as has already been noted there are other factors that affect the total fare paid. If I were being totally rational about the best use of my money and time I'd look at the total cost of both of the alternatives. If the asking fare is only marginally different for a one way ticket or the return leg of a round trip ticket flying from the...
My immediate reaction is to resent this impost, but as has already been noted there are other factors that affect the total fare paid. If I were being totally rational about the best use of my money and time I'd look at the total cost of both of the alternatives. If the asking fare is only marginally different for a one way ticket or the return leg of a round trip ticket flying from the UK rather than AMS, CDG or DUB, my rational self wouldn't care that there was a tax. I'm of an age and situation where time is less relevant, but my irrational self might well pay more by way of the expense of a repositioning trip by air, train or ferry, rather than submit to the indignation of the tax.
If my plans already involved one or more of the alternative departure points, I might well arrange my itinerary to make a point (that I but no one else would see) of avoiding the longer haul version of the tax. Of course, I could always choose to fly economy to reduce the tax I pay.
From my limited research of fares from NW Europe to Australia (admittedly before this latest announcement), fares depend more on the start point of the ticket, and the market generally makes fares from London better value than those from other ports. More choices bring fares down, who knew? But I think I'll just fly to Australia in economy, that will show the UK Government that I'm serious!
Having Qatar screw up my ticket in Q suites (1 of 2 only) making me purchase row 43 last minute on an ex CX 777 - I highly discourage you from flying cattle (especially when the wife is row 6 eating Lobster and sipping Dom).
Mind you, flying economy on Qatar for 14 hours is still better than Rouge for 5 hours that seem like 5 years.
Often the time costs are negligible as, if you aren't flying from London, you can't really fly long-haul without a connection. You just need an extra hour or two to avoid stressing about late inbounds on separate tickets.
You have to be a grade-a arsehole to put £250 tax on a f light. Just as well these morons dont know about positioning flights lol
Have to laugh at all the numpties who apparently don't know that this APD increase was announced when Rishi Sunak was PM.
So all those of you spouting off that this showcases incompetence, corruption, and spite - just know that it's the Tories you're talking about. They announced this change in the Spring 2024 budget.
Hilarious.
This further moves the dial towards favouring short haul "positioning" flights then long haul out of an untaxed location. Also favours arranging your travel "inside out" so you're never booking return flights out of UK. Make your flight leaving UK be the return lag of returning from whatever your last trip was. Needs a but of careful planning, but if you're a frequent traveler to a few locations in the same region, this tax is entirely avoidable.
The UK-to-somewhere half of a round trip ticket is charged the duty irrespective of whether it's the starting or the return half of the ticket. If the UK is anywhere on the ticket, it has to be a transit stop on a Somewhere-UK-Somewhere Else journey.
Henry is talking about taking a short haul flight (lower tax) to EU and then taking a long haul on a separate ticket from there. This gets rid of some of the tax, but most people can't be bothered and it carries a risk in case of INOPs.
My wife and I are each hit with this 8+ times a year and really don't care. Honestly, there are bigger issues in life to worry about.
I'm not a fan, but it also seems the airlines absorb some of this. I returned from LHR last year and noted the airfare in J was very much the same as had I returned from CDG.
I wouldn’t mind if it was used for critical infrastructure projects supporting connectivity etc for the aviation industry, but it’s not it goes into the general pot from where who knows what black hole it’s draining into!
It is being used in more (Un)Pouplar Woke Programs!
Probably because we have a corrupt, incompetent and spiteful government who seem to be focused on being the worst we have ever had
That's an accurate description of Rishi Sunak, whose government instituted this increase!!
Tell me you were in a coma for 14 years of tory governance without telling me you were in a coma...
That some of you think and write this nonsense is fascinating.
More people will be taking the train to CDG.
Avoid buying tickets starting in the UK. The country is now under the control of communists fighting a class was against successful people.
That sums it up.
Why does the UK have this tax, they have enough of them, that resembles a tax from a third world country taxing "tourists and the rich" which can afford to travel. Today almost all in the UK can travel. This is a tax working against the interest of UK's airline sector which contributes lots to the economy. Silly APD should become history, UK has other taxes and fees by the ay on international plane tickets.
Why the uproar? This is similar to what Harris wants, to punish the rich with taxes so that they pay their fair share. Just admit it. Airlines are a special interest to us. We rich people should be punished. That is not a joke.
The UK being a broken country. Stealing money so they can send it to Israel to keep funding genocide in Gaza. Shame on Hasbara Starmer.
Get a life……….
If you want to know where government money is going look at the Hamas leadership living the lap of luxury in Qatar.
Funds earmarked for Palestinians is never reaching them.
BB - you got your comment backwards. The UK is actively trying to kill Israel as a country and all it's citizens. Your new government is a total reflection of how Islamic the UK now is due to unfettered immigration during your EU experiment.
There are only two things that one can be sure of in life:
Death and Taxes.
The UK Labour government has always favoured taxation both in life and death.
Spiteful, small minded numpties who couldn’t run a hot bart.
To be fair, the previous lot weren't exactly known for their competent handling of financial matters.
Absolutely, as there has not been a real Conservative Party since Margaret Thatcher, the LibDems hijacked the party to become the small ‘c’ conservative imposters.
In fairness to them they only tried to correct the Blair/Brown years of abysmal governance.
Nor can you spell a hot bath, Mogman!
Craver you are correct old bream, well sputted, however, did it not occur to you that it might have bean deliberate to give the peasants something to mourn about.
You know it was the Tories who instituted this change, right? One of Sunak's final acts towards the end!
Aah, those pesky facts.
Take the train to Amsterdam, and pay the much lower Dutch APD.
We've done this, and we've used DUB as a gateway too. We usually depart London on Eurostar and fly back from somewhere on the continent.
Is your time not important to you?
Sounds to me that you are simply cutting off your nose to spite your face.
So one could save a bit of money taking a short haul international flight on a separate ticket and then originating the long haul itinerary there, even if it connects through the UK. LHR-DUB, then DUB-LHR-JNB on a separate ticket.
That's what I always do, it also saves the trek down to LHR and the queues and general wasting of time associated with departing from a large airport (to be fair, T2 isn't bad, but last time I flew from T5 the business class queue was 15+ mins, while yesterday morning at BHX the Y one was empty).
Also the ticket itself is going to be cheaper connecting in LHR than originating (despite the extra leg) - especially in premium cabins.
That's a good point, although it doesn't really apply to me as I have no desire to fly BA, and VS mostly go to places that don't interest me much. I'd rather use miles to fly AF direct to a new country in Africa or South America, or buy a cheap business class ticket on TK from Scandinavia if heading East.
This insane act is courtesy of Sir Keir Starmer's rubbish Labour cesspool. Sunak would not have done this.
This is one step toward fixing the NHS and other social services which are drowning.
Sunak and the Tories would have done nothing but continue to line their own pockets.
I have worked very closely with the NHS. Throwing more money at it is likely to make worse, not better. Sir Keir said as much just a few weeks ago - ‘we have to fix the plumbing before we turn on the taps’. It's great to see he's managed to fix the plumbing in less than a couple of months and can now turn the tap on to the tune of £23bn.
They just announced record funding for the NHS and already the NHS has asked for more. It’s not going to work. The NHS is bigger than the GDP of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania combined. The UK is fast becoming a health care system with a country attached.
The tax is bad but people will pay it. The UK has one of the highest passenger taxes in the world.
Give me a break. Sunak did not dismantle the air passenger duty when he was PM -- too busy pandering the the racist yobs in the home counties.
This tax is arguably more slimy than the one on personal income. While the latter is levied on people who contribute to the dismal UK economy, this one is effectively pickpocketed out of passengers as they leave. I never liked departure taxes, particularly when they're used to disincentivize citizens from leaving, and certainly when they're one of the last fees imposed on you after leaving the UK, whether for business or pleasure. If this also...
This tax is arguably more slimy than the one on personal income. While the latter is levied on people who contribute to the dismal UK economy, this one is effectively pickpocketed out of passengers as they leave. I never liked departure taxes, particularly when they're used to disincentivize citizens from leaving, and certainly when they're one of the last fees imposed on you after leaving the UK, whether for business or pleasure. If this also includes transiting passengers, you're already paying for the privilege of using the facilities at the airport in your fare, so the extra fee is a final gouge to remember when planning your next trip. I'm curious if the difference is now severe enough to make alternate plans to reposition and depart from neighboring countries in the EU in order to avoid the taxes.
Transit passengers DO NOT pay APD. I just bought a BOM-LHR-BOS ticket and used vouchers to upgrade from Y to premium economy, the total additional cost was £41 which was basically a slightly higher YQ surcharge.
BA always stands out when searching awards because of how high the taxes are, even on connecting flights.
There are plenty of premium economy fares to Asia or the US at around £1000 or less, so £224 tax is pretty significant on that. Seems unfair when it's exactly the same tax on a £8000 first class fare.
Premium economy wasn't around when the tax was introduced. Even better than paying the £200 tax on a premium economy flight to Asia or the USA is paying the £200 tax to fly to CAI/BEY/AMM in an A320 with the middle seat blocked in business and little to no hot food- note that the full whack would still be payable on a journey like LHR-ZRH-CAI.
Note to pedants: when I say 'premium economy wasn't around' I don't mean that it didn't exist at all, just that it was only available on a handful of carriers.
UK people - does this tax go to anything specific? Or is it just general government revenue
General taxation, a cynic might say that most of it likely goes to pay for the armies of administrators and project managers working in the NHS.
Talk about lack of transparency.
General government revenue. If you think thats a lot you should see what the APD is for private general aviation, went up double. Politics of envy
The APD isn't charged on the basis of the length of the actual journey, but rather on the basis of the distance between London and the 'capital city' of the destination, which typically means national capital unless you're talking overseas territories such as Martinique which are listed separately (so FDF attracts a higher band than metropolitan France).