Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on families of increases in Air Passenger Duty for Premium Economy passengers announced in the Budget.

The government is committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK and recognises the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world.

At Budget 2025, the government announced it will uprate APD rates in line with RPI from 1 April 2027 and rounded to the nearest penny. This constitutes a real terms freeze meaning passengers will pay the same in today’s prices.

As set out in the OBR forecast in March, passenger numbers are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in the coming year, and are expected to be around 10% higher than 2024-25 once new APD rates are implemented in 2026-27.