Plans to abolish the air passenger duty and replace it with a per-aircraft tax have been dropped by the UK Government, which also announced today that it will freeze APD rates for the coming year.
In his annual budget statement, UK Chancellor George Osborne says the Government "will not introduce a per-plane duty at the present time, given concerns over the legality and feasibility of this approach".
However, he adds that it will begin a "programme of intensive work with our international partners to build consensus for a per-plane duty in the future".
APD rates will remain as they are until April 2012.
IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani has welcomed the decision not to increase APD rates, but is calling on the UK to abandon the tax altogether.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news