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Flights - Claim back Air Passenger Duty
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is a tax charged for leaving Britain in the sky.
- Air passenger duty can be a large slice of ticket cost.
- If passenger misses flight, the tax is not paid to the Government.
- This means passengers can claim it back.
Law
APD was introduced on 1 November 1994.
It was originally just £5 per person for short-haul flights, and £10 elsewhere. But since then, the cost of APD per flight has risen by up to 539 per cent and passengers now pay up to £73 on long-haul economy flights.
It's also worth pointing out that you should check your travel insurance as it may include missed flight cover.
There is no law under which airlines are required to refund these charges.
The law that brought in APD does not deal with the issue of refunds when a passenger does not use their ticket.
Nor is there any law that prevents an airline from charging an administration fee for processing the refund.
This can mean claiming back the APD from various airlines, depending on the APD cost, may not be worthwhile, especially on short haul flights.
In any event, airlines rarely voluntarily refund taxes, fees and charges to passengers who do not travel, they have to ask.
Other than APD, extras can include airport tax and fuel surcharges but, unlike APD, these aren't set amounts and vary airline to airline and airport to airport - check with your airline.
Airlines have the right to keep the APD tax if the customer does not claim it back, as they only need to pay the Government the taxes of those who have flown.
A new rule was brought into place by the Government in March 2016 that under 16s are no longer charged APD tax. The new rules mean that 12 - 15-year-olds are now exempt from paying the duty on economy class tickets when flying from a UK airport.
How to claim APD back?
| Airline | Fee | Time Limit | T&Cs |
|---|---|---|---|
| EasyJet | Free | None | Passengers can claim back APD by calling customer services on 0330 365 5000 and they will refund you full APD tax with no charge. In its terms and conditions, it states: 'If after having made a booking you do not fly with us, whether or not a refund or credit to the value of the fare is payable, you will be entitled to claim a refund of any applicable APD payable by you in accordance with Article 5.2, which as a consequence we have no obligation to pay to any government or other authority on behalf of which we collect passenger duty.' |
| Ryanair | £17 | One month | You can apply for an APD refund via this form but APD taxes are non-refundable if they are under £17. Its website states: 'If you do not travel on your booked flight the air fare, fees and charges are non-refundable but you may apply in writing within one month of the date of travel for a refund of the Government Tax paid. 'Government tax refunds are subject to an administration fee of £17. If the refund amount is less than the applicable administration fee, no refund will be made.' It adds: '4.2.2 Taxes, fees and charges imposed on air travel are constantly changing and can be imposed after the date that your reservation has been made. 'If any such tax, fee or charge is introduced or increased after your reservation has been made you will be obliged to pay it (or any increase) prior to departure. 'Alternatively, you can choose not to travel and a full refund will be processed. Similarly, if any such tax, fee or charge is abolished or reduced such that it no longer applies to you, or a lesser amount is due, you will be entitled to claim a refund of the difference from us.' |
| British Airways | £15-30 | None – and refund within 72 hours | According to information from the Civil Aviation Authority: 'If you wish to claim the ADP tax back from an online booking, the fee will be £15 and you can make your claim through the 'manage my booking' section of the website. 'However, if you made your booking over the phone, the administrative fee will be £30.' According to Cheapflights, customer services told it that it's free to claim back APD and passengers just need to go onto 'manage my booking' and update details and would automatically receive a refund within 72 hours. 'It adds that it is very difficult for a customer to find out how to claim APD back without doing a lot of research to find the CAA table.' In the T&Cs on its website, BA say: 'We will refund the fare and carrier imposed charges and surcharges for your ticket, or any unused part of it and any taxes, fees and charges, as set out in the fare rules and conditions applicable to your booking.' |
| Virgin Atlantic | £30 | None | On the customer help section of its website, Virgin says: 'For restricted non-refundable tickets where only the taxes and fees are refundable, there is a £30 refund administration charge, per person, per ticket, for refunds processed in the UK. Cheapflights said when it called customer services, it was given the wrong information. It was told it's best to call up customer services on 0344 209 7770 to be refunded without charge, which goes against what it says on Virgin's T&Cs and on the CAA table. This proves how difficult it is to claim back APD and how little known it is even among airline staff. In its T&Cs, it states: '10.1.3 Applicable taxes, fees and charges paid at the time of issue of your Ticket will be included in fare refunds pursuant to Articles 9, 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4, where appropriate.' |
| Flybe | £25 | None | Visit the Flybe website and claim a refund for any unused taxes and charges. Note: As the fee is £25 and many of Flybe's routes are under 2000 miles (Band A), this can cost more than the APD. Its website says: 'If you do not travel and your ticket is not used, you may be able to claim a refund of any unused taxes and charges via our refunds team. 'As Flybe are a non-refundable carrier, we are not able to refund the fare or ancillary parts of your reservation. 'Your tax refund will be subject to an administration fee per passenger, per flight and will vary by currency. The administration fee in GBP is £25.' Its T&Cs state: '4.2.3. If you do not use your Ticket or any part of it, you are entitled to claim a refund of any T&Cs relating to the unused part which you paid, less a reasonable service charge.' |