Post-Brexit travel will see an extra £200 in tax for passengers flying to destinations over 5,500 miles from the UK. The Global Britain Commission told City A.M this tax will see a cumulative annual bill of nearly £1bn, a figure based on pre-pandemic flight data trends. As travel picks up again, to pre-pandemic levels as cited by Eurocontrol, this may be due to increase further.
The destinations effected include some of the most fast-growing emerging economies, such as Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. Key trading partners will also feel the impact, as Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea fall under the new tax bracket.
For British business and investors however, the tax will make it harder and more expensive to foster new relationships outside of Europe. This is particularly important post-Brexit.
Despite this, the government set out the purpose of the tax to reduce carbon emissions from aviation, targeting the particularly long-haul flights for their increased fuel consumption. This measure seems like a scratch on the surface of the real change that needs to occur to reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation industry.
