Liberal Democrat peer Floella Benjamin has called for changes to be made to air passenger duty so that it doesn’t discriminate against people visiting the Caribbean.

Currently, people travelling from a UK airport to the Caribbean pay more tax than those travelling to California, for example. This is despite the distance to the Caribbean being significantly shorter.

The Treasury is consulting on proposals that would see countries placed in tax bands according to the distance of their capital from the UK.

Speaking in the House of Lords, Baroness Benjamin, who was born in Thailand, said: “Any negative impact on tourism in the Caribbean will have far-reaching consequences. If jobs are lost and alternative employment is not available, we all know this will have a cost – to governments in supplying welfare as well as the potential increase in crime.

“The UK is home to around 800,000 members of the Caribbean diaspora and they view APD with a huge sense of injustice. Many of these citizens were encouraged to come to the UK in the 50s and 60s and have spent their lives working in public service.

“Now in retirement, the money they have saved to pay for visits, often for funerals, weddings or to see sick relatives, suddenly does not go as far because many of them have been low-income earners.”

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Chancellor George Osborne is expected to deliver a boost to holidaymakers by freezing air passenger duty in the Budget.

The duty normally rises in line with inflation each November, but it is understood there will be no rise this year. 

This could save a family of four around £4 on a European holiday or as much a £36 on a long-haul flight to Australia. 

And it could be timely a boost for airports as summer approaches on the horizon and people begin to plan their breaks abroad.

Currently the duty adds £12 to the cost of an economy within Europe, £60 to the USA and £85 to Australia. There are higher charges applied to business and first-class tickets. 

Mr Osborne has vowed that there will be no more tax rises or spending cuts in the Budget, which will introduce a number of measures to stimulate growth and create jobs.

He also left no doubt that he will resist calls from Labour to scale back the pace of deficit reduction: “That’s not going to happen,” he said. 

And he gave a strong hint that he will postpone the 1p rise in fuel duty scheduled for April 1 in order to relieve pressure on motorists struggling with prices at the pump of £1.30 or more.

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Budget airline easyJet has praised the coalition Government after plans to replace the air passenger duty (APD) airport departure tax with a per-plane tariff were announced in the emergency Budget. 

A rise in APD announced by the previous administration and pencilled in for November 2010 is likely to still go ahead, leading easyJet, which flies from Luton Airport and Stansted, to warn that passengers would still see cost increases for some routes.

Andy Harrison, chief executive of budget airline easyJet, said: “Four out of five British travellers would be better off under a per plane tax as private jets, cargo aircraft and travellers changing planes in Heathrow will start paying their fair share.

easyJet praises Government plans to replace the air passenger duty (APD) airport departure tax

“We applaud the Government’s intention to end this daft poll tax on passengers.”

Ed Anderson, chairman of the Airport Operators Association, said: “We remain concerned that the Government still intends introducing a per-plane duty but are pleased that they are willing to consult the industry first. We will work with the Government to ensure that the impact of a per-plane duty on the viability of routes and regional connectivity will be minimised.”

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easyJet have welcomed the prospect of lower passenger duty which may be on the cards since the formation of the new coalition government in Britain.

The decisions have also been made to introduce a new tax on planes which would most likely affect older, less efficient airline brands that are running planes that are half-full of passengers. easyJet run younger planes with load factors well over 85%, welcome the revised approach.

easyJet

The chief executive of easyJet, Andy Harrison said,  ”We look forward to working with the new secretary of state for transport. The two Government parties have made a firm coalition agreement to reform the daft Air Passenger Duty, which taxes full planes but not empty ones. It’s now time to act and make it a fairer and greener tax without increasing the tax burden on the flying public.”

In other recent news reported the 3rd runway at Heathrow will be scrapped by the new government and plans to introduce new capacity at London Gatwick and London Stansted will also be put on hold.

easyJet is also expecting to transport more than 60% passengers this year than British Airways.