The Treasury’s consultation on APD was a “waste of taxpayers’ money”, according to the chiefs of BA, Virgin, Ryanair and Easyjet.
The government’s response to the consultation, published today, revealed there would be no fundamental changes to APD, despite repeated calls for change from many in the travel industry.
This has prompted cries of outrage from the CEOs of four of Britain’s airlines, who branded the consultation “a sham”.
Easyjet’s Carolyn McCall, BA-parent IAG’s Willie Walsh, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary and Virgin Atlantic’s Steve Ridgway earlier this month formed an unprecedented alliance to campaign against the tax.
They have today renewed their calls for the government to commission an independent study on the economic impact of APD
In a joint statement, they said: “We have no doubt this would confirm that APD’s negative effect on UK GDP significantly outweights its revenue benefit for the treasury.”
Mike Carrivick, CEO of BAR UK, of which Virgin and BA are members, has also spoken out against the Treasury’s findings.
“Treasury has either deemed matters too complex or that changes would disadvantage others – in that case why bother consulting,” he said.
Carrivick accused the Treasury of having “completely ignored” the opinions of those in the aviation and travel industry and of “digging its head in the sand over what it knows is a flawed tax”.
BAR UK’s 86 member airlines are “angry” about the outcome of the consultation, he added: “Immediate reactions are that a huge amount of money, time and effort has been spent in vain.
“The excessive increases in APD continue to discriminate against air travellers and will provide the resolve for the industry to seek meaningful change.”