British travellers planning their holidays for the year must be made aware of recent changes in the UK’s travel regulations. These include a new tax on air travel, as per a recent announcement by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in this year’s Spring Budget.
Known as the Air Passenger Duty (APD), this tax is an excise duty levied against every passenger departing from UK airports to domestic and international destinations. While it has been in place since the nineties, the APD is now set to increase in line with inflation. These updated rates can financially affect British travellers taking UK outbound flights, entailing a closer look at the new rate structure.
The new rates for Air Passenger Duty
The amount of APD charged on each aircraft passenger depends on where their journey ends. As such, the APD rate structure is split into four different bands, namely domestic flights and international flights between 0 and 2,000 miles (band A), between 2,001 miles and 5,500 miles (band B), and distances over 5,500 miles (band C).
There are three different rates within each band, which are primarily based on which airline class the passenger travels in, namely economy, premium economy, and first class. Such classes equate to a reduced, standard, and higher rate, respectively.
With the APD set to go up on April 1, 2024, the new rates for each band and class will be:
- Domestic: reduced rate £7, standard rate £14, higher rate £78
- Band A: reduced rate £13, standard rate £26, higher rate £78
- Band B: reduced rate £88, standard rate £194, higher rate £581
- Band C: reduced rate £92, standard rate £202, higher rate £607
Although the airline pays the APD directly to the HM Revenue and Customs, the cost is typically factored into the final ticket price paid by passengers. Despite this tax increase that affects those travelling to farther destinations outside of the UK the most, holidaymakers can still look forward to budget-friendly travel options.
Budget-friendly options for British holidaymakers remain
Airlines offering cheap flights
While passengers mainly shoulder the cost of the APD increase, they can opt for airlines that offer cheap flights to save money on base rates. The airline easyJet has deals for flights within and outside of the UK, including sought-after European destinations like Prague, Copenhagen, and Munich.
Travellers can utilise the airline’s simple low-fare finder to find and compare flight prices for their chosen destination, as well as get the Plus Membership for a price guarantee and other perks like discounted in-flight purchases.
Expert tips on booking flights
Experts have also come up with budget-friendly tips for the best time to book flights. Howden Insurance found that for domestic flights, airlines like Jet2, Ryanair, TUI, British Airways and easyJet are typically cheapest on Mondays. Meanwhile, their international flights have the lowest rates in the middle of the week.
As prices tend to increase closer to the day of the flight, travellers are recommended to book at least six months before their planned holidays. August is also the best month to book a getaway as fees become less expensive towards the end of the summer.
The growing trend of city breaks
Holidaymakers from the UK can also transform their travel behaviours and patterns to remain on budget. This can mean looking into the growing trend of city breaks, which refer to short weekend stays in cities like Tirana (Albania) and Bucharest (Romania). As opposed to booking expensive long-haul return trips for week-long holidays, flights to these destinations can start for as low as £50 per person.
Besides complying with the new APD rates, Brits must also stay updated on visa requirements if they are travelling to countries in the EU or the Schengen area. Currently, British residents can travel freely to Schengen countries if they visit as tourists and stay for 90 days or less in a 180-day period. Otherwise, they must accomplish the list of essential requirements for a Schengen Visa, with the details available in a previous post.