FTO to mount legal challenge over doubling of Air Passenger Duty Last Updated: 5:01pm GMT 01/02/2007 By Charles Starmer-Smith http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/m...VCBQWIV0?xml=/travel/2007/02/01/etlegal01.xml The Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) is set to mount a legal challenge over the doubling of Air Passenger Duty (APD), which came into effect today. Their opposition will be added to that of the operator First Choice which earlier today said it would challenge the duty increase from £5 to £10 on short-haul flights and £20 to £40 on long-haul services. advertisement The FTO, which represents all the major tour operators, said it had obtained advice which suggests that the rise in APD is open to legal challenge. It is estimated that the rise in APD, which was announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown in December, will cost tour operators some £45 million. "The increase has no statutory authority until the House of Commons passes a resolution or until new primary legislation is enacted," said the FTO in a statement today. "Neither has yet taken place and the Treasury has no grounds for its action." A letter setting out the legal basis of possible claims was received by the Chancellor today. The FTO and the Association of British Travel Agents earlier called upon the Government to give the industry a longer period in which to introduce the tax change, as it did when APD was originally introduced. Andy Cooper, the FTO director general, said: "Because the Government has not on this occasion been prepared to respond positively to tour operators' needs, FTO members find themselves with no alternative than to challenge the whole constitutional basis of the tax, and have obtained strong legal advice that a judicial review would prove successful." Dermot Blastland, managing director of First Choice, said that in the past tour operators had been given nine to 12 months' notice of additional charges so they could be incorporated in holiday brochure prices. Mr Cooper said tour operators were particularly angered by the Government's decision to make the duty rise retrospective. "What makes the introduction date even more unfair is that before the announcement of the rise four million holidaymakers had already booked departures after February 1. Tour operators are not able to recover the added tax because of rules on holiday prices," he said. Airlines are governed by different rules and passengers who have bought flights separately have already had to pay the APD increase.
Got this from Thomsonfly today regarding my travel plans for Cancun, I would suggest those of you travelling soon who have not heard anynews on how the extra APD is to be paid should contact your travel agaents asap. Air Passenger Duty (APD) changes As you may have recently seen in the media, on 6 December 2006, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, announced that Air Passenger Duty (APD) is to increase on all flights originating from the UK from 1 February 2007. This tax is not contributing to environmental causes, was imposed arbitrarily, without consultation with the airline industry, and is mandatory. We are sorry that your booking reference has been affected, and all passengers will be required to pay the additional APD before travel, in accordance with Clause 4.2 of our Terms and Conditions of booking. How much is the additional charge? All passengers departing from a UK airport (including the Channel Islands) after 1 February 2007 must pay an additional charge as follows: For flights within the EU – an additional £5 per passenger For flights outside the EU – an additional £20 per passenger For Premium Seating/Service within the EU - an additional £10 per passenger For Premium Seating/Service outside the EU - an additional £40 per passenger How do I pay? You need do nothing, as we will process your additional tax payment automatically. If you wish to use a form of payment which is different to the one used to make the original booking, you must call us within 48 hours of despatch of this email on 0870 054 1356 (national rate call charges apply, lines open Monday to Friday 08:30 - 22:00, Saturday and Sunday 09:00 - 19:00). When your payment has been successfully processed, you will receive an amended booking confirmation, which reflects the additional payment. Please bring the amended confirmation with you to the Airport when you travel. Please note that customers paying by credit card will NOT incur additional credit card fees. Travel Agents: You are responsible for communicating this information to customers in accordance with our terms and conditions Terms and Conditions of booking. What happens if I do not pay the Air Passenger Duty increase? All passengers will be required to pay this additional APD increase before travel. Any customers who do not wish to pay the increase in Air Passenger Duty, may cancel their booking, in which case our standard cancellation terms will apply. Sharing the burden Recognising that this tax will be an unexpected and unwelcome additional financial burden, Thomsonfly is offering affected customers a unique opportunity to discount the equivalent amount of additional tax payable from any new Thomson accommodation booking. Customers wishing to view the terms and conditions attaching to this offer and further details on how to book, should click here. What do I do if I want to complain about the increase in Air Passenger Duty? We suggest that any complaints regarding the increase in Air Passenger Tax be submitted to Her Majesty's Treasury by email to: ministers@hm-treasury.gsi.gov.uk What is Air Passenger Duty? The UK government introduced Air Passenger Duty over six years ago as an environment tax. The money generated by APD is controlled and received by the Government alone. Thomsonfly believes that there is no evidence of the £1bn per year produced solely through APD, being spent on any project aimed at protecting the environment in the past, nor will any future Government income generated by this increase be used towards environmental mitigation measures. You are receiving this e-mail because you have made a booking with us. If you do not wish to receive any further promotional e-mails from us, please click here to unsubscribe. Unfortunately we are unable to respond to replies to this email, the most efficient way to contact us is through our online contact form where your feedback will be directed to our Customer Services team. ©2007 Thomsonfly Ian :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
I booked with Thompson back in October at local shop so will get straight on the phone tomorrow morning....
Ian I got in touch with our local Thompson shop who said we dont have to pay the increase but to call Thompson Fly direct, called them and they told me the same
i think if you booked as a package they cant make you pay it or something? but if you booked just flights they can.
Yup as mentioned above they've just told me as It's only a flight I've booked with them and not a package I have to cough up the extra. :evil: Damn you Gordon Brown and your ever increasing taxation on the working class :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: Ian :evil:
