Air Passenger Duty: Coronavirus

(asked on 1st June 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of temporarily suspending air passenger duty for (a) domestic routes, (b) short haul routes and (c) long haul routes to help support the aviation sector.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 9th June 2020

The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector as a result of COVID-19 and the Chancellor wrote to the aviation sector on 24 March to set out the Government’s position and the support measures available. The Government has announced an unprecedented package of support for workers and businesses to protect against the current economic emergency.

This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has so far helped 1 million employers across the UK furlough nearly 8.5 million jobs, protecting people’s livelihoods. This scheme was recently extended until the end of October, meaning that it will now be in place for a full eight months, giving businesses the vital support that they need.

The Government is also prepared to enter negotiations with individual companies seeking bespoke support as a last resort, having exhausted other options. However further taxpayer support would only be possible if all commercial avenues have been fully explored, including raising further capital from existing investors and discussing arrangements with financial stakeholders.

More broadly, the government has committed to consult on aviation tax reform. We will provide more detail on next steps in due course.

Reticulating Splines