Labour was today urged to 'stop taxing the s*** out of’ holidaymakers and cut flying taxes in this month’s Budget by a string of airline CEOs.
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Labour → urge → CEOs
The bosses of easyJet, British Airways and Ryanair lined up to call on Andy Burnham and his Chancellor to slash Air Passenger Duty (APD) on fares, also known as the ‘holiday tax’.
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bosses → line → tax
They warned taxes on hard-earned family breaks were already at ‘historic levels’ and that the PM's pledge for 'good growth in every postcode’ won't happen if APD is hiked again to balance the books after Labour's welfare spending splurge.
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APD → warn → splurge
They also warned families could be priced out of holidays abroad and took aim at ‘loony’ plans to bring in a new tourist tax on domestic hotel stays.
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families → warn → stays
It comes after the Mail revealed last month that Labour is raking in record amounts from flying taxes after already hiking APD by an inflation-busting 15 per cent in the 2024 Budget.
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Labour → come → Budget
But there are growing fears Mr Burnham’s Chancellor, John Healey, will look to raid holidaymakers again when he delivers his first Budget on October 28.
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he → be → October
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, speaking at a roundtable of top aviation CEOs in Brussels today, said he had written to Mr Burnham, whose premiership he branded a ‘typical Labour f***ing tax and spend government’.
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he → speak → premiership
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary branded Andy Burnham's premiership a ‘typical Labour f***ing tax and spend government’
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O'Leary → brand → premiership
There are growing fears Andy Burnham’s Chancellor, John Healey (left), will look to raid holidaymakers again when he delivers his first Budget on October 28
Labour first raided holidaymakers in the 2024 Budget when former Chancellor Rachel Reeves hiked APD by an inflation-busting 15 per cent
He added: ‘You cannot deliver growth to every postcode in the UK if you increase tax on air travel.
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you → be → travel
‘Even more ludicrously, he’s now proposing a double tax for visitors to the UK by allowing the local loony mayors in the UK to put an overnight tax on hotels and overnight accommodation.
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mayors → propose → hotels
‘So this is a typical Labour f***ing tax and spend government.
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this → tax → ?
If he follows the same failed economic policies as the German government, the Austrian government and French, taxing the s*** out of air travel, he’ll see the same economic stagnation those countries are currently struggling with.
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countries → follow → stagnation
'Abolish APD if you’re serious about growth in every postcode and abandon the loony plan to allow local mayors to scam tourists for double taxation on overnight accommodation.'
EasyJet boss Kenton Jarvis said: ‘The Labour government is talking about a cost of living crisis and making sure hard-working families have the right to do what they should.
‘
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they → abolish → right
APD already went up in April and that has made it more expensive and the reality is, unless it’s frozen, we have to pass that onto customers.
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we → go → customers
‘We already have the highest levels of APD.
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We → have → APD
I don’t think you can seriously increase them further.
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you → think → them
It needs to be frozen and ideally a reduction.’
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It → need → ?
Luis Gallego, CEO of International Airlines Group, which owns BA, also backed slashing the levy.
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which → own → levy
Travellers were hit with a record bill of £4.6billion in APD for the year 2025-26, HMRC data show.
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data → hit → year
After Labour's APD hike, which came into force in April this year, families of four travelling in economy class this summer to some destinations faced tax bills on getaways of more than £400 for the first time
EasyJet boss Kenton Jarvis said 'I don’t think you can seriously increase' APD further and that 'it needs to be frozen and ideally a reduction'
Luis Gallego, CEO of International Airlines Group, which owns BA, also backed slashing the APD levy
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of this financial year (2026-27), a record £1.6billion was raked in from the levy.
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1.6billion → come → levy
It comes after former chancellor Rachel Reeves raised APD by an inflation-busting 15 per cent for most fares in her first Budget after Labour won the 2024 election.
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Labour → come → election
It kicked in from April this year and meant families of four travelling in economy class this summer to some destinations faced tax bills of more than £400 for the first time.
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families → kick → time
And the same families travelling to destinations such as Dubai or Florida saw the levy hit nearly £1,000, if travelling in premium economy, as APD rates are higher for non-economy classes.
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rates → travel → classes
In 2016-17, the Government collected just £3billion in APD.
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Government → collect → APD
APD rates are charged according to a three-tier scheme based on the distance being flown.
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rates → charge → distance
At present, it is £15 per passenger for those flying abroad up to 2,000 miles, which is most European destinations.
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which → fly → those
The levy is charged on flights taking off from a UK airport, meaning it is paid on outbound journeys but not inbound.
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it → charge → journeys
It is not charged for children under 16 if they’re travelling economy class.
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they → charge → 16
The tax is charged to carriers but almost always passed onto fliers, meaning fares increase when it is raised.
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it → charge → fliers
Hospitality bosses have already warned that new powers which ministers are set to hand to regional mayors to introduce a levy on hotel stays could put jobs at risk.
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ministers → warn → risk
The uncapped levy, dubbed a 'tourist tax', will see visitors staying in cities charged a fee on top of the cost of their stay.
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visitors → dub → stay
While Labour mayors in ten city regions have said they will voluntarily cap it at 5 per cent, Reform UK's two regional mayors and the two Conservative ones have said they won't use the powers.
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they → say → powers
The Treasury was contacted for comment.
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Treasury → contact → comment
The Aporia
