Is It Possible To Avoid UK Air Passenger Duty (APD)?
From April 1st 2012/2013, flight departure taxes in the UK are set to rise yet again. Air Passenger Duty (APD) is charged for each passenger departing a UK airport – this cost is included in the ticket price. The UK currently has the highest aviation departure taxes in the world.
Despite aviation being seen as vital to worldwide trade and tourism, one of the UK’s solutions to a £126 billion budget deficit and £1.1 trillion national debt is to squeeze airline passengers further. The airlines themselves are heavily opposed to the tax as are the governments of Australia, New Zealand and various Caribbean countries who are losing significant tourist numbers from UK.
There are 4 APD bands based on flight distance, which bizarrely is calculated as the distance between London and the capital city of the destination country. There are tariffs for economy passengers (known as the “reduced rate”) and for premium economy / business class / first class passengers (known as the “standard rate”). APD will increase again in April 2013.
|
from
April 2012 |
from
April 2013 |
||
|
BAND
|
DISTANCE
(miles) |
Economy/Premium
|
Economy/Premium
|
|
A
|
0-2,000
|
£13/£26
|
£13/£26
|
|
B
|
2,001-4,000
|
£65/£130
|
£67/£134
|
|
C
|
4,001-6,000
|
£81/£162
|
£83/£166
|
|
D
|
6,000+
|
£92/£184
|
£94/£188
|
APD only applies to departing – not arriving – UK flights. Note that direct long-haul flights from Belfast in Northern Ireland and all flights from the Scottish Highlands and Islands are exempt from APD.
So from April 2012 (2013) a family of 4 will pay £368 (£376) in APD to fly economy from the UK to Australia or £736 (£752) if flying premium economy or higher – by no means an insignificant sum.
Theoretical avoidance of APD is always possible but such strategies may sometimes trigger additional costs – such as increased airfare from stopovers, “higher intermediate points” and open-jaw tickets; and sometimes needing to purchase “positioning” travel. Booking multiple flights also introduces possible connection risk.
Some points to consider for UK APD:
*By avoiding the UK completely you will not have to worry about APD! Be aware that Germany has the second highest taxes which range from €7.50 to €42.18 – considerably lower than UK.
*You do not have to pay APD if you are in transit in the UK – that is if you arrive in the UK and then depart on a “connected” flight on the same booking within 24 hours. For example, flying New York-London-Paris or Amsterdam-London-Tokyo would not trigger any APD charge if the London stop is less than 24 hours.
However, if the London stop is greater than 24 hours then you would pay band A APD for the London-Paris flight or band D for the London-Tokyo flight.
*UK passengers, particularly those in the north should consider originating travel from Dublin or Belfast. A cheap Ryanair flight could be booked to Dublin although do watch the connection by allowing plenty of time.
*Flying long-haul from Amsterdam Schiphol (which has no airport taxes) is also possible for UK travellers. Price your flight from Amsterdam to see if it undercuts the ex-UK price. You can book a cheap Easyjet or British Airways flight over (or come by train). To avoid connection issues it is recommended that you position to Amsterdam the day before and stay at the budget CitizenM airport hotel on site.
*UK travellers should compare UK long-haul prices with those originating from various other European cities. This does remove the APD component but ticket prices can also vary significantly from different Euro starting points. You could also consider departing from a Euro city, but having the return flight back to London.
*Travelling on the Eurostar train from London to Brussels or Paris does not attract any departure tax. Amsterdam and Cologne can also be easlily reached by train from London via Eurostar and the Thalys.
*If flying long-haul from London, a European stopover would reduce the APD. For example, flying London-Madrid-Buenos Aires with a stopover in Madrid would reduce the APD from band D to band A. However, adding the stopover could increase the base fare.
*Note, if flying London-Madrid-Buenos Aires with only a transit in Madrid you are liable for the full band D APD. If the London-Madrid flight is economy but Madrid-Buenos Aires is business then you will still pay the full standard rate (business class).
*For transatlantic flights consider flying business class to the UK (where the flat seat comes in handy for the overnight trip) and no APD is charged. Fly economy class from UK to US/Canada which will reduce APD and being a day flight this should be more manageable.
*Note that some APD discrepancies arise from the capital city distance calculation. For example, flights to the USA / Canada are based on the distance between London and Washington DC / Ottawa respectively – which are band B (under 4,000 miles).
This means that flights from London to Vancouver (4,723 miles), San Diego (5,485 miles) and Honolulu (8,012 miles via LAX) remain in APD band B – whilst London flights to Nassau, Bahamas (4,342 miles) and Kingston, Jamaica (4,688 miles) are in band C.
Other distinctions arising from the mileage bands are flights to: Pakistan (B) and India (C); Ecuador (C) and Peru (D); Uganda (B) and Kenya (C).
Note that Greece, Cyprus, Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya all fall into the cheapest band A. However Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan fall into the significantly higher band B.
*If you are flying UK to Australia or New Zealand (band D) and plan to make one stopover in Asia or the Gulf then do it on the outward leg rather than the return. Notable stopover bands are Dubai (B), Thailand (C), South Korea (C), Vietnam (C) and Hong Kong (C). Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are all in band D – the same as Australia and NZ. Alternatively, make a stop in Europe (A) or originate from Europe (no APD).
*If you are flying on an ex-UK Round-the-World ticket then fly the first flight to a band A destination to minimise the APD component.
If you are on any RTW ticket then do not book a long-haul sector from the UK – you will save money by adding a stopover elsewhere in Europe. Say you were considering part of the RTW ticket as New York-London-Singapore then instead book New York-Frankfurt-Singapore or New York-xLondon-Frankfurt-Singapore (where xLondon is transit and Frankfurt could be any applicable Euro city).
*You should also try and avoid premium long-haul mileage redemption flights from London. It should not make any difference to the miles spent if you choose travel to/from another European airport
*Free operational upgrades on ex-UK flights are not subject to any additional APD charges – but paid upgrades are subject to the higher rate.
[Updated Jan 2013 to reflect new APD from Northern Ireland]