Air Passenger Duty historic rates
Updated 29 October 2021
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1. Overview
These tables provide current and historical rates of Air Passenger Duty (APD). For detailed information on current APD rates, go to ‘Rates for Air Passenger Duty’.
The most recent duty rates are provided first followed by tables of historical rates for each change to APD rate bands.
2. Current APD Rates
Following the changes to APD from Budget in 2015, the destination bands were reduced to two by merging the former bands C and D into band B. As a result, there are now only two bands - A and B. These two bands are defined as follows, with mileage referring to the geographical distance from London to the capital of the destination country:
- Band A: 0 - 2,000 miles
- Band B: 2,000+ miles
From May 2015, children under 12 were exempt from APD, and from March 2016, all children under 16 travelling in the lowest class of travel were exempt from APD.
| Date of change | Band A Reduced rate (£) | Band A Standard rate (£) | Band A Higher rate (£) | Band B Reduced rate (£) | Band B Standard rate (£) | Band B Higher rate rate (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01.04.15 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 78.00 | 71.00 | 142.00 | 426.00 |
| 01.04.16 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 78.00 | 73.00 | 146.00 | 438.00 |
| 01.04.17 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 78.00 | 75.00 | 150.00 | 450.00 |
| 01.04.18 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 78.00 | 78.00 | 156.00 | 468.00 |
| 01.04.19 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 78.00 | 78.00 | 172.00 | 515.00 |
| 01.04.20 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 78.00 | 80.00 | 176.00 | 528.00 |
| 01.04.21 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 78.00 | 82.00 | 180.00 | 541.00 |
3. Historical APD rates
From 1 April 2013, the higher rate applies to flights aboard aircraft of 20 tonnes and above with fewer than 19 seats, and APD applies to all flights aboard aircraft 5.7 tonnes and above. If any class of travel provides a seat pitch in excess of 1.016 metres (40 inches) the standard rate is the minimum rate that applies.
| Date of change | Band A Higher rate (£) | Band B Higher rate (£) | Band C Higher rate (£) | Band D Higher rate (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01.04.13 | 52.00 | 268.00 | 332.00 | 376.00 |
| 01.04.14 | 52.00 | 276.00 | 340.00 | 388.00 |
From 1 November 2009 until 1 April 2015 a four destination band structure applied, based on geographical distance from London to the capital of the destination country. Each band had two rates of duty depending upon the class of travel, so there were eight different rates of duty.
From 1 November 2011, the rate of APD due for passengers travelling on direct long-haul routes departing from airports in Northern Ireland was cut, and Band A rates applied irrespective of the destination. From January 2013 the rate for direct long-haul flights from Northern Ireland was devolved and set to zero by the Northern Ireland Executive.
| Date of change | Band A Reduced rate (£) | Band A Standard rate (£) | Band B Reduced rate (£) | Band B Standard rate (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01.11.09 | 11.00 | 22.00 | 45.00 | 90.00 |
| 01.11.10 | 12.00 | 24.00 | 60.00 | 120.00 |
| 01.04.12 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 65.00 | 130.00 |
| 01.04.13 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 67.00 | 134.00 |
| 01.04.14 | 13.00 | 26.00 | 69.00 | 138.00 |
With effect from 1 April 2001, new standard and reduced rates of duty were introduced for both Economic European Area (EEA) and Non EEA destinations and an exemption applying to the return leg of a domestic flight was removed. The lowest rates of duty apply to the lowest class of travel of any flight.
| Date of change | EEA Destinations Reduced rate (£) | EEA Destinations Standard rate (£) | Non-EEA Destinations Reduced rate (£) | Non-EEA Destinations Standard rate (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01.04.01 | 5.00 | 10.00 | 20.00 | 40.00 |
| 01.02.07 | 10.00 | 20.00 | 40.00 | 80.00 |
Between 1 November 1994 and 31 March 2001 a lower rate applied where passengers were travelling to a UK destination or within the EEA and other closely connected destinations. A higher rate applied in all other cases.
| Date of change | Lower rate (£) | Higher rate (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 01.11.94 | 5.00 | 10.00 |
| 01.11.97 | 10.00 | 20.00 |