IATA slams UK airport duty plan
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has labelled the increase in UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) and its reform into four bands as an “enormous mistake”.
“The (UK) Chancellor (Alistair Darling) wisely abandoned plans to introduce Aviation Duty, the proposed per plane tax, on the grounds that this is no time for introducing greater instability in the airline industry – a catalyst for economic growth,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “Unfortunately the wisdom stopped there. Adding millions of pounds to the cost of travel from the UK will not help the Chancellor set the UK economy back on a growth path. We have the right diagnosis but the wrong prescription,” he added.
Bisignani went on to label the APD plan as “another cash grab” by the UK government, adding that it will not help the environment, as the UK government says. “The UK Government already admits that the current GBP2 billion (US$3.04 billion) take from APD more than covers the cost of aviation’s climate change impact. Airlines take their environmental responsibility seriously. In this year alone, IATA-led efficiency measures have saved over 14 million tonnes of CO2. How much CO2 will the increased APD save? The blunt instrument of taxation does nothing to improve environmental performance,” blasted Bisignani.
IATA follows the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in criticising the UK’s plan.
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