UK Airlines plead with government to stop tax increase

UK based airlines have renewed their calls to stop Air Passenger Duty (an excise duty charged on the carriage of passengers flying on an aircraft with an authorised take off weight of more than ten tonnes or more than twenty seats) from being raised on April 1 2012. “Aviation wants to, and should be, playing a leading role in economic recovery – as it does in so many other countries,” said the four airline chief executives – Willie Walsh (IAG), Steve Ridgway (Virgin Atlantic), Carolyn McCall (Easyjet) and Michael O’Leary (Ryanair) – in a joint statement. “But the UK imposes