Taxes on long-haul flights are to rise despite airlines calling for them to be scrapped.
Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates for departures from Britain will increase by £2 to £82 for travellers with economy tickets, and by £5 to £181 for those in premium cabins.
The change, revealed in Treasury documents accompanying Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget, is in line with the RPI measure of inflation.
Short-haul rates remain frozen.
The announcement was made just hours after Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary told the Transport Select Committee that APD is “ridiculous” and “hits the poorest people hardest”.
Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, described the rise as “a very damaging blow to an industry already on…