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Easyjet is set to cut domestic flights following the government’s decision to increase air passenger duty (APD).
The UK’s biggest budget airline plans to reduce flights within the UK, with services between London, Scotland and Northern Ireland most affected.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in October that passengers could expect to pay £2 more for economy seats and 50 per cent more to fly on private jets.
APD rates – the tax that passengers aged 16 and over must pay when flying from most UK airports – increase each year with the forecast Retail Price Index (RPI) and are adjusted in line with inflation.
Speaking in the Commons, Ms Reeves stated that APD had “not kept up with inflation in recent years”.
Kenton Jarvis, easyJet’s finance chief, called the price hike “disappointing”.
“We were really happy when the Government said they were pro-growth and I understand why they want to increase things like the minimum wage,” he told The Telegraph.
“But the ADP is really disappointing. Fundamentally, it’s exactly what they said they didn’t want to do, which is to tax the working person.
“We’re an island and we’re taxing what gets the economy moving. It’s at loggerheads with being pro-growth. I don’t think it’s a smart move.”
The decision comes just days after easyJet revealed that annual profits had increased by one-third.
The carrier’s financial results for the year from October 2023 to September 2024 included a record profit of almost £1bn during the summer.
Last month, Ryanair confirmed it would cut flights to and from UK airports by 10 per cent in 2025 as a result of the government’s decision.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary claimed the move “damaged” UK growth prospects and “made air travel much more expensive”.
Campaigners have said that the move doesn’t go far enough, however.
In a statement, the NGO Transport & Environment described the aviation sector as “undertaxed: it does not ‘pay its way’.”
It pointed to the fact that VAT is not applied to airline tickets and that there is no tax on jet fuel, stating “this is the direct opposite of the ‘polluter pays principle’”.
The Independent has approached easyJet for comment.
Source: independent.co.uk
