Increased air taxes may lead to fewer air routes

Air passenger duty tax is set to rise after the UK Government made the decision to increase the tax as of November. The latest increase may cause more job losses and airlines could be forced to cut back on certain flight routes, according to a new survey by InsureandGo. The travel insurance company claims that since August 2008, more than 1,000 flights that travelled to and from airports in Britain were cancelled from flight routes as passenger numbers dwindled in the face of the economy.

The new pressure from the added air passenger duty (APD) will continue to pile on extra pressure and airlines are likely to scarp certain routes in order to see out the already troubled times. Only last week Easyjet cut back on its flight routes by dropping 20 per cent of their flights in and out of Luton Airport and they also revealed plans to move their base from East Midlands Airport to a cheaper base elsewhere in Europe.

Rival budget airline, Ryanair, have also been cutting back on expenses as they no longer operate from Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport and even British Airways have reduced their flight capacity. Both Ryanair and Easyjet blame the latest cut backs on the impending rise of APD.