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RyanAir boss questions passenger tax
Michael O’Leary, chief executive of budget airline Ryanair, has written to chancellor Gordon Brown asking him to scrap proposals to introduce the double air passenger duty, set to come into force on 1 February.
Speaking at a press conference in London earlier this week, O’Leary said he had demanded an explanation from the Treasury about how it plans to use the extra £1bn which it expects to raise from the tax.
O’Leary’s letter comes as a response to the chancellor’s pre-budget report on 6 December, in which Mr Brown said air passenger duty rates would increase by 100 per cent.
According to the proposals, airlines must pay the government a rate of £10 per passenger for short haul flights in economy, and £40 for each traveler taking a long haul flight – £20 and £80 for passengers travelling in business class.
O’Leary said: “These taxes are regressive and ineffective. Gordon Brown is merely using the environment to steal more taxes from ordinary passengers.”
RyanAir and low cost rival Easy Jet have responded to the rises by emailing all customers who had booked their flight prior to the pre-budget announcement and asking them to pay an extra £5 for their flight fares.
British Airways criticised the Treasury’s decision, but has promised to absorb the rise in tax itself without any extra cost to its passengers.
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