Heathrow Airport has urged for the scrapping of Air Passenger Duty (APD) and a growth in domestic routes, with Jersey and Guernsey included in a map of potential new routes.
In a letter to UK Chancellor Philip Hammond ahead of the upcoming Autumn budget, Heathrow urged the government to scrap domestic APD on all UK flights, after research from Frontier Economics revealed that UK passengers are paying an extra £225 million in aviation tax on domestic flights compared with many European counterparts.
The proposal is part of a nine-point plan unveiled by the airport today – Bringing Britain Closer – which includes plans to connect more of the UK to the nation’s only hub airport. It aims to connect at least 14 UK destinations, including the Channel Islands, Liverpool, Humberside and Newquay.
Bringing Britain Closer aims to boost domestic connectivity and support UK-wide growth. Measures include:
• £10 discount on domestic flight
• £10 million route development fund
• Campaigning for the abolition of domestic Air Passenger Duty
• Supporting the ring-fencing of slots for domestic routes
• Supporting public service obligation routes to Heathrow
• Connecting to the largest 100 towns and cities
• Supporting Western Rail Link and Southern Rail Access
• Improving connections to London
• Working with HS2 to connect passengers to the North