In the UK Government’s “Autumn Budget” they announced that the air passenger duty (APD) on long-range business-aviation flights will rise by 50% in 2026, and that they plan to extend the highest tax rate to smaller business aircraft.
Aviation Week reported on the response from business aviation trade groups, private jet brokers, and interviewed a number of individuals including the CEO of the Air Charter Association (ACA) and Finlay Asher from Safe Landing to get their thoughts: https://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/airports-fbos-suppliers/trades-brokers-campaigners-respond-uk-passenger-duty-rise
“An ideal policy will be as closely correlated to emissions, carbon and pollution as possible, APD doesn’t focus on emissions; it’s just distance and class.” – Finlay Asher, Safe Landing
A revised APD regime could start to provide incentives to passengers and fleet owners to choose lower-emission aircraft, rather than merely imposing additional costs, Asher argues.
“[One] way you could reform [APD] is looking at the carbon intensity,” he says. “So, if you fly in an [Airbus] A320ceo rather than a Neo, for the same distance you will pay more, because the Neo less efficient. [At present, for APD purposes] we don’t differentiate between a 30-year old aircraft versus a new-generation one, [but] a slow-flying turboprop is very different from a fast-flying, jet-powered Gulfstream.” – Finlay Asher, Safe Landing
Ultimately, Asher says, changes to the APD regime will have limited effect unless they are part of a coherent and relevant overarching strategy that indicates a clear direction of travel to the industry.
“We need bold policies; [we] need the government to step in and set policies that direct the sector in the right way,” he says. “We’re really keen on [government setting out] a clear industrial strategy—for all the high-carbon sectors, but obviously for aviation—that’s realistic about what’s possible technologically, how much it’s going to cost and what the policies are going to be to support it. Industrial strategy needs to lead this discussion.” – Finlay Asher, Safe Landing