British travellers are not impressed by the UK government’s increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD), according to the results of a recent survey.
The 2013 Flights Survey, which was carried out by TripAdvisor, a travel website that assists its customers in gathering travel information, revealed that 77 percent of its 1,100 respondents felt that APD should be scrapped. The duty is scheduled to suffer a further increase in April this year, and for a proportion of those surveyed the rise will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, with 27 percent of them saying that the cost of APD will affect their travel plans during the coming year.
The Flights Survey also questioned respondents on their attitudes towards forthcoming changes to security allowances in carry-on luggage that were originally introduced back in 2006. This will see the restriction on carrying more than 100 ml of a liquid in hand luggage revoked in April, thanks to all EU airports now having equipment available that can analyse such liquids. This advance in security technology is probably partly responsible for such a small proportion of travellers registering any concern for the change, with just 17 percent of those questioned saying that they would feel less safe when the restriction is lifted.
Emma Shaw, a TripAdvisor spokesperson, commented on the findings, ‘Flights make up a significant part of the cost of a trip and the results of this research reveal that the ever increasing cost of APD is becoming a real concern for British travellers.
And, while the liquid ban was originally implemented for traveller safety, it seems that the majority of Brits won’t feel any less safe when the restriction is lifted later this year.’
