Reminder UK Tax Increase November 2009
As announced last year UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) goes up for travel from 1 November 2009, and there will be a further increase next year. APD applies to all flight departures from UK, except for connecting international or domestic flights after an international arrival. The exemption covers transits on a single ticket within a prescribed time (a day or less in some circumstances). The exemption rule is not changing.
Until 31 October 2009 APD is £10 or £20 for "European" destinations and £40 or £80 for other destinations. The higher rate applies for premium economy, business and first class.
From 1 November 2009 APD is £11 to £55 in economy depending on country and £22 to £110 for all other classes of travel.
As it is a bit complicated I've prepared a summary (see map below). For convenience I list the economy rate of APD. For other classes of travel the Air Passenger Duty is twice the economy rate.
UK APD Zones 1 Nov 09
Map Legend:
Europe-A 
Other-A 
B 
C 
D UK Air Passenger Duty Zones and change in APD 1 November 2009
Europe-A £10 -> £11
Other-A £20 -> £11 (NB Russia east of Urals in B)
B £20 -> £45
C £20 -> £50
D £20 -> £55
Europe-A £10 -> £11
Other-A £20 -> £11 (NB Russia east of Urals in B)
B £20 -> £45
C £20 -> £50
D £20 -> £55
For more detail, continue reading.
"Europe"
Currently on the lower rate and will be in new Band A.
£10 → £11
Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark (incl Faroe Islands), Estonia, Finland (incl Aland Islands), France (incl Corsica), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy (incl Sardinia & Sicily), Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, (FYROM) Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway (incl Svalbard), Poland, Portugal (incl the Azores & Madeira), Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain (incl Balearic & Canary Islands), Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK (incl Channel Islands, Gibraltar & Isle of Man)
Other Europe
Currently on the higher rate and will be in new Band A. APD decreases at 1 November 2009.
£20 → £11
Belarus, Greenland, Moldova, Russia (west of Urals only), Ukraine
Northern Africa
Currently on the higher rate and will be in new Band A. APD decreases at 1 November 2009.
£20 → £11
Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara
Midhaul and shorter longhaul
Roughly USA & Canada, most of Africa (north of Equator except those above), Middle East, Caucasus, central Asia, west Asia.
Currently on the higher rate and will be in new Band B. For some a large difference in APD compared with neighbouring countries in Band A (see underlined entries).
£20 → £45
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Benin, Bermuda, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia (east of Urals), St Pierre & Miquelon (France), Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uganda, UAE, USA (incl Hawaii but excl Puerto Rico), Uzbekistan, Yemen
Longhaul
Roughly Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, northern South America (above Equator plus Brazil), southern Africa (below Equator), eastern (except Taiwan) and southern Asia (except southeast).
Currently on the higher rate and will be in new Band C.
£20 → £50
Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Ascension Island, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Burma, Burundi, Cayman Islands, China (incl Hong Kong & Macao), Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, North Korea, Panama, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rwanda, St Barthelemy, St Helena, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Martin, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Longer longhaul
Roughly southern South America (below Equator except Brazil), Taiwan, southeast Asia, Oceania.
Currently on the higher rate and will be in new Band D.
£20 → £55
American Samoa, Argentina, Australia (incl Christmas Island, Cocos Islands & Norfolk Island), Bolivia, Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, Cook Islands, East Timor, Falkland Islands, Fiji, France (New Caledonia & French Polynesia), Guam, Indonesia, Kiribati, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, Taiwan, Tonga, Tristan da Cunha, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Islands
1 comment:
Increases in APD especially for medium--long haul -will they not encourage airlines -especially European -to attract UK passengers to fly off via Paris/Schipol/Frankfurt/Vienna. APD will then only apply on the inter- European section and the real long-haul leg will be charged at the interim transfer countries rate. Suggests that UK airlines will lose market share .
Already - for example - fares to South Africa are cheapest from UK via Middle East . OK - longer flight - trouble with time-zones and jet lag but cheaper. It seems crazy as increasing the flight time increases energy use per passenger. Does this APD increase not threaten to extend this sort of counter-intuitive nonsense . Ian Jacobs
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