Air Passenger Duty (APD) is set to increase in April 2026 and 2027 after the UK government released their budget plans. The aviation sector has criticised the government’s plans to increase the rate of APD in April 2026 and raising it even more in 2027.
What is Air Passenger Duty (APD)?
APD is charged on passengers, over 16 years old, departing from a UK airport and ranges depending on the distance of flight and class of travel.
Charges on passengers are currently split into four flight bands, above and below 5,500 miles, that are further split into three tax brackets according to the class of the ticket.
The four destination bands are domestic, band A, band B and band C. The domestic band are for flights in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland only, and international bands A, B and C for all other destinations.
The way it is measure for each band is the distance from London to the destination’s capital city. Band A is 0 to 2,000 miles, band B is 2,001 miles to 5,500 miles, and band C is for over 5,500 miles.
Current rates in 2025, from the UK government’s website, are the following for reduced and standard rates:
- UK domestic flights £7 or £14
- Band A £13 or £28
- Band B £90 or £216
- Band C £94 or £224
From April 2026, the APD will rise to:
- UK domestic £8 or £16
- Band A £15 or £32
- Band B £102 or £244
- Band C £106 or £253
Additionally, from April 2027, the APD will rise even further to:
- UK domestic £8.26 or £ 16.52
- Band A £15.49 or 33.04
- Band B £105.33 or £251.95
- Band C £109.46 or 261.25
“Bad News” for Aviation Industry
The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has come out today to condemned the Chancellor’s budget as “bad news for the aviation industry”.
With the budget raising APD, BALPA says it will hit families going on holiday the hardest.
BALPA Director for Strategy and Reform Alice Sorby, has said:
“This Budget is bad news and more bad news for the aviation industry. Firstly, the Chancellor has ignored calls from BALPA – the voice of airline pilots – and the industry and announced plans to increase Air Passenger Duty in line with RPI from April 2027. Bad news for passengers, especially families going on holiday, who now face increased ticket prices.”
The BALPA has also raise concerns that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves’ budget does not address the UK’s urgent need to train new pilots.
The union, which represents over 10,000 UK airline pilots, have warned that pilot training, which currently costs over £100,000, is unaffordable for many young people today. This means there will not be enough UK trained pilots to fill airline vacancies in the future.
What is your opinion on the Government’s plans for APD? Let us know in the comments.
