UK Air Passenger Duty Increasing, Premium Cabins Hit Hardest

UK Air Passenger Duty Increasing, Premium Cabins Hit Hardest

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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. We tend to see annual adjustments to this, to reflect inflation. Not only is the UK APD going up as of April 1, 2024, but we’re going to see an additional hike as of 2025, which will exclusively hit premium cabin passengers.

New UK APD as of April 1, 2024

As of April 1, 2024, the United Kingdom will be increasing the Air Passenger Duty for many types of tickets:

  • The domestic economy APD will increase by £0.50, from £6.50 to £7 (~$9)
  • The domestic premium APD will increase by £1, from £13 to £14 (~$18)
  • The long haul economy APD will increase by £4, from £84 to £88 (~$112)
  • The long haul premium APD will increase by £9, from £185 to £194 (~$246)
  • The ultra long haul economy APD will increase by £1, from £91 to £92 (~$117)
  • The ultra long haul premium APD will increase by £2, from £200 to £202 (~$257)

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 short haul APD (for international flights of up to 2,000 miles) won’t be adjusted in 2024; that continues to be £13 in economy and £26 in business class
  • This is only one tax that applies on flights out of the UK, as there are plenty of other airport and customs taxes
The UK APD will be increasing as of April 2024

UK APD increasing further in 2025

Not only is the UK Air Passenger Duty increasing in 2024, but we’ve already learned the details of a new APD price hike as of April 1, 2025. This will apply specifically to premium cabin passengers:

  • The domestic premium APD will increase by £2, from £14 to £16 (~$20)
  • The short haul premium APD will increase by £2, from £26 to £28 (~$36)
  • The long haul premium APD will increase by £22, from £194 to £216 (~$274)
  • The ultra long haul premium APD will increase by £22, from £202 to £224 (~$284)

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.

Premium cabins will be hit hardest in 2025

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; the airline industry will be struggling for a while, so to see this tax get even more expensive will be disappointing to both airlines and many consumers
The UK APD doesn’t apply to connecting passengers

Bottom line

The UK Air Passenger Duty is about to get more expensive. As of April 1, 2024, we’re seeing a mild annual adjustment to the APD. Then 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.

What do you make of the UK’s upcoming APD hikes?

Conversations (25)
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  1. Mike C Guest

    I fly to/from Berlin from USA. Like to stop in London for 2-3 day break, but now will route thru MAD or Paris.

  2. Rogern Guest

    Another reason to avoid London crazy taxes and surcharges can add $500-700. Better to go to Madrid or Stockholm to start long journeys in First or business....cheaper fares and less charges. UK is taxing itself out of business, terrible infrastructure, shocking prices, dirty, on strike half the time what a mess.

  3. Robert D Guest

    How does this affect tickets that are already booked?

    1. UncleRonnie Guest

      It doesn’t. Hike only comes into affect in 2025.

    2. UncleRonnie Guest

      Edit: 2024. It affects tickets you buy after April. Existing flights are not affected.

  4. Matthew Guest

    Seems reasonable to me. Allows for more tax cuts for everyone while asking those who are buying luxury tickets to pay very slightly more.

    I’d guess a lot of the naysayers are American with a different view on taxation!

    1. Takhliq Khan Guest

      Please let us know in a few years if you get any tax cuts. Most of the time it doesn’t work that way.

    2. Matthew Guest

      We got tax cuts at the same time they announced the APD rise… average of £400 a year; should offset the APD rise for the vast majority of flyers!

  5. s c Guest

    Note that the distances are to the capital city of the destination country, not the destination itself. So, for example, even on a hypothetical flight between London and Hawaii, you'd only pay the "long haul" and not "ultra long haul" rate

  6. stogieguy7 Gold

    This was always an absurdly punitive tax which is anti-business and anti-tourism. I had hoped that lawmakers in the UK would see the folly of this scheme and reduce the fees. But no, let's take a horrible idea and double down on it. SMH

    How does this affect tourism? One example is our family's trip to the UK (and other places) in a couple of months: because of fare differences, we're actually flying from the...

    This was always an absurdly punitive tax which is anti-business and anti-tourism. I had hoped that lawmakers in the UK would see the folly of this scheme and reduce the fees. But no, let's take a horrible idea and double down on it. SMH

    How does this affect tourism? One example is our family's trip to the UK (and other places) in a couple of months: because of fare differences, we're actually flying from the US to DUB with a quick hop to MAN the next morning (we have some family stuff to do near there). When we leave the UK, it'll be on Eurostar. Now, back in the oldend days, I would have booked our trip having LHR as our gateway and exit point for a Euro trip. Now, it's voided. Last such trip, we did AMS and it saved us hundreds. If I do it, I'm sure a lot of other do too. Yet the idiots in the UK are too dense to realize that for every pound they collect, they may well lose two.

    1. Optimist Guest

      For people who have time to cobble together the sort of amazing race itinerary you’ve described with cars, trains, boats and plans - I guess it makes sense. But the government knows that LHR is a global hub and they can afford to run the risk of turning your business away. Most business travellers in premium cabins probably don’t even know their fares, let alone what component of them is taxes and charges.

    2. Ed Guest

      If it’s anti-tourism, it’s doesn’t seem to be working with you. You are still coming and will still spend money in the UK.

      Most people won’t even see the APD and book the fare that suits, landing in Paris, Amsterdam, London or wherever as price and timing works out for them. Airlines will set ticket prices taking into account taxes, costs, supply and demand as normal.

  7. AJO Member

    Are ABZ and INV still excluded from APD? Or is that a thing from the past?

    1. Creditcrunch Diamond

      Yes still excempt

  8. Takhliq Khan Guest

    Ben, I have to respectfully disagree with your statement about the highest taxes on air travel anywhere in the world.

    While it maybe true for economy travel but for the premium, title goes to the Banana Republic of Pakistan.

    After the US sponsored and supported regime change in 2022, clowns were imposed on the people of Pakistan. They promptly bumped up the taxes on air travel to the highest in the world for premium...

    Ben, I have to respectfully disagree with your statement about the highest taxes on air travel anywhere in the world.

    While it maybe true for economy travel but for the premium, title goes to the Banana Republic of Pakistan.

    After the US sponsored and supported regime change in 2022, clowns were imposed on the people of Pakistan. They promptly bumped up the taxes on air travel to the highest in the world for premium travel. How about close to 900 dollars for travel in business class from Pakistan to the US? And that does not even include other mandatory taxes and fees.

    1. A_Japanese Gold

      Federal excise duty on premium class air ticket originating Pakistan would be 75000 PKR= 270USD for Middle East/Africa to 250000PKR =900USD for North/Central/South America. And it is based on IATA traffic conference area so from Karachi, the duty on the flight to Cape Town would be much lower than that on flight to Bangkok - am I correct?

    2. Takhliq Khan Guest

      That is correct.
      Rs. 75000 for CPT while Rs.150000 for BKK. Does not make sense at all.

  9. Optimist Guest

    People often get excited about APD, whilst forgetting that air travel, which - particularly in the case of premium-cabin travel - is a luxury, is not subject to VAT - which is 20%.

    1. Richard Hertz Guest

      Interesting point. So that makes the APD a rather regressive tax.

      With VAT, a person purchasing a £300 one-way premium economy flight to the US would pay £60 in VAT, and the person who purchases a £5,000 one-way flight would pay £1,000 in VAT.

      In contrast, both pay £194 in APD. Meaning high-fare business travelers are getting a HUGE tax break at the expense of lower-fare passengers and upgrades.

    2. Jack Guest

      For persons whose jobs require them to travel a lot internationally, flying in a premium cabin is not a "luxury," particularly if it's in BA old club class. Work travel is not glamorous.

    3. Optimist Guest

      It remains a luxury in the sense that it is not an essential item or service that justifies exemption from VAT at 20%. That’s the point. Whether you think globetrotting business travellers need their flat beds is neither here nor there.

  10. Creditcrunch Diamond

    It’s the easiest tax for the UK government to manage, it’s unavoidable if you want to fly and the airlines do all the collections and just send a cheque to the Treasury.

  11. BZ Guest

    Another example of the UK decaying into a third world country.

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s c Guest

Note that the distances are to the capital city of the destination country, not the destination itself. So, for example, even on a hypothetical flight between London and Hawaii, you'd only pay the "long haul" and not "ultra long haul" rate

5
stogieguy7 Gold

This was always an absurdly punitive tax which is anti-business and anti-tourism. I had hoped that lawmakers in the UK would see the folly of this scheme and reduce the fees. But no, let's take a horrible idea and double down on it. SMH How does this affect tourism? One example is our family's trip to the UK (and other places) in a couple of months: because of fare differences, we're actually flying from the US to DUB with a quick hop to MAN the next morning (we have some family stuff to do near there). When we leave the UK, it'll be on Eurostar. Now, back in the oldend days, I would have booked our trip having LHR as our gateway and exit point for a Euro trip. Now, it's voided. Last such trip, we did AMS and it saved us hundreds. If I do it, I'm sure a lot of other do too. Yet the idiots in the UK are too dense to realize that for every pound they collect, they may well lose two.

5
UncleRonnie Member

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