UK lifts business class ‘flight tax’ to $500

Australians visiting London or anywhere else in the UK are set to be slugged a $500 ‘flight tax’ on premium economy, business class and first class fares when it’s time to head home.

That’s the latest round of increases for the controversial Air Passenger Duty which applies to all commercial flights departing from Britain – a fee which started at a modest £5-10 (depending on distance) when introduced in 1994 as an ostensible airline-wide fuel tax, and has been climbing ever since.

The increased APD fees, announced as part of this week’s budget by the UK’s new Labour government, come ahead of the January 2025 start date for a mandatory £10 (A$20) ‘electronic travel authorisation’ required by all travellers who currently enjoy visa-free status.

Read more: Australians will soon need a travel permit to visit the UK

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the APD  “has not kept up with inflation in recent years” – despite an annual incremental rise which already sees the tax set at £202 for long-range international flights in premium economy, business and first class (the economy equivalent is £92).

The previous Conservative government had already earmarked April 2025 for “a one-off adjustment (for) non-economy passengers to account for high inflation in recent years and help to maintain the value of APD in real terms.”

Under that bump, all premium economy, business class and first class travellers departing the UK on flights of over 5,500 miles from London would see a £224 (AUD$440) tax added to their ticket.

Now there’s another jump due in April 2026, with the APD for premium classes on the longest flights (over 5,500 miles, or 8,850km) stepping up to £253 (A$496).

However, the biggest jumps will hit the private jet set, who will see a 50% increase to around £1100 (A$2156) for medium-long range flights on private or chartered business aircraft.

APD levies are broadly determined by the distance of your flight, using London as the starting point, as well as the class of service you’re flying in, with one fee for economy and another for everything above.

The further you fly from the UK, the higher the departure tax...

One rate is charged for domestic flights within the UK, with international flights falling into one of three distance-based bands:

• Band A is for flights to overseas destinations whose capital city is 2,000 miles or less from London (basically, all of Europe and parts of North Africa)
• Band B is for overseas destinations whose capital city is between 2,001 and 5,500 miles from London
• Band C is for the longest flights, to countries whose capital city is more than 5,500 miles from London, which includes Australia and most of Asia

The lowest rates are for travel classes where the seat pitch is less than 40", which generally covers economy, while seat pitch above 40" attracts a higher rate.

Some canny travellers plan their trip around avoiding the APD sting by flying into the UK but flying out of a European port such as Paris.