- UK flight taxes have increased from today, pushing up the cost of long-haul travel including flights from Australia.
- The UK’s Air Passenger Duty has risen across all international bands for flights departing the country.
- Travellers returning to Australia from the UK will also see higher fares as airlines pass on the tax increase.
As if we didn’t need another headache to deal with ahead of the busy Euro summer season, the UK government has today introduced higher rates to Air Passenger Duty, meaning travellers will pay a “departure tax” for the luxury of using its airports.
And for Australians who like to use London as their European launchpad, the long-haul distance band is among the highest rate changes this year.
Whether out of habit or convenience, London has long been the default European hub for Australians. You can easily pick up flights to and from major European cities for less than a round in a Sydney pub, and if you’re travelling at the pointy end, it’s often where airline perks and upgrades tend to accumulate the most.
Flights into the English capital remain unaffected, so don’t go and change your flight plans just yet. The UK does, however, charge Air Passenger Duty on departure, which means the moment you leave, whether back to Australia or off to some remote corner of the Mediterranean, you’re paying for the privilege.
For flights departing London to Australia, which sits in the UK’s highest distance band, premium cabin passengers are now paying £253 (~AU$484) in departure tax, up from £224. The only positive really is that this is baked into the fare, so most travellers won’t have to incur further charges beyond what they’re already expected to pay. But that’s more of a glass half full outlook.
RELATED: Qantas’ New Search Tool Just Made Finding Reward Flights A Lot Easier
Of course, for many of us, London doesn’t stop being useful, but it does start behaving more like a toll point, when we’re all rather happy to pass through for an otherwise seamless itinerary.
And while an extra 50-odd dollars might not raise eyebrows for someone booking a lie-flat seat, it’s yet another cost to incur when we’d rather spend our money when we’re out of the airport terminal.
So none of this means Australians will suddenly stop flying through London, nor does it suggest Europe is any harder to reach this year. And with ongoing uncertainty around some long-haul routes through the Middle East, an extra charge to pass through the UK may not be the biggest concern on most itineraries. But as a transit hub, particularly for those travelling in premium cabins, it has become a slightly more expensive habit, like paying for all the streaming services to just watch reruns of Friends again. It’s the kind you keep, but would rather not.
Either way, if there’s a way to get the Euro summer plans out of the group chat without an added surcharge baked into your departure, there’s a good chance more Australians will start looking for it. It keeps London on the itinerary, just not necessarily on the ticket home.
