Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cost to the exchequer of extending the Air Passenger Duty exemption for children under 16 years old to (a) Premium Economy and (b) any other cabin class travel.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines, not individual passengers, and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.2 billion in 2024-25 and it aims to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. The distance-based band structure ensures that those who travel furthest, and in the greatest comfort, incur a greater tax liability.

Children under 16 years old on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are exempt from APD. This means that no APD will be paid on that passenger by the airline to the UK government. If children under 16 years old are travelling in any other class (such as premium economy) or in business jets, they are not exempt. Children under 2 years old without a seat are exempt from Air Passenger Duty for all classes of travel.

Airline operators declare the number of chargeable passengers by destination band and by rate. They do not break down chargeable passengers by age, and therefore this is not information that HMRC collects.

The government has published annual statistics and analysis on airline passenger numbers and Air Passenger Duty (APD) receipts in the UK which are administered by HM Revenue and Customs. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-passenger-duty-bulletin.

As with all taxes, APD is kept under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.