United Kingdom Starts Implementing Air Passenger Duty
Posted on January 3rd, 2019
At the beginning of March, the United Kingdom HM Revenue & Customs confirmed that Air Passenger Duty (APD) would be implemented on business aircraft passengers departing from United Kingdom Airports, where the Maximum Take Off Weight of the Aircraft is greater than 5.7 tons which applies to most business jets. It increases further when the Aircraft’s Maximum Take Off Weight is greater than 20 tons. Until this point, business jet aircraft passengers have been exempt from the Duty.
With effect from the 1st April, 2013 the following rates, per passenger, will be levied by the United Kingdom Government on all departing flights; for simplicity, the Government has introduced a banding system, based on the distance from London, regardless of departing Airport in the UK, to the capital city of the final destination country, again regardless of the destination itself. Following are the Bands for reference:
| Destination Bands and Distance from London to Capital City of Country of Final Destination (miles) | Reduced Rate (Up To 20 Tons) | Higher Rate (Over 20 Tons) |
Band A (0-2000) | £13 $20USD | £52 $79USD |
Band B (2001 – 4000) | £67 $102USD | £268 $405USD |
Band C (4001 – 6000) | £83 $126USD | £332 $503USD |
Band D (over 6001) | £94 $143USD | £376 $569USD |
Examples of Aircraft Types | Boeing BBJ |
Examples:
1) For a Learjet 45, carrying 6 passengers, from Farnborough to Paris (Band A) the Air Passenger Duty would be £13 x 6 = £78 (118 USD)
2) For a Hawker 1000, carrying 4 passengers, from Farnborough to Sharm el Sheikh (Band B) the Air Passenger Duty would be £67 x 4 = £268 (406 USD)
3) For a Challenger 604, carrying five passengers, from Farnborough to Sharjah (Band B) the Air Passenger Duty would be £268 x 5 = £1,340 (2,027 USD)
4) For a Global XRS, carrying 2 passengers, from Farnborough to Bridgetown (Band C) the Air Passenger Duty would be £332 x 2 = £664 (1,005 USD)
The APD is applicable to all flights qualifying under the weight rule, regardless of whether they are private or commercial and is a Duty which cannot be reclaimed or exempted, regardless of the Nationality or State of Registry of the Aircraft.
Regrettably therefore, JetOptions started implementing this change from 1st April 2013 and any Duties levied will be recharged at cost through the normal accounting process.
Tags: HMRC, air passeger duty, APD, business aircraft passenger duty, JetOptions, private jet charter, business aircraft, United Kingdom HM revenue and customs
