I have fully paid for tickets with KLM from Glasgow to Kuala Lumpur via Amsterdam, travelling on Feb 13th. Since I booked, the Air Passenger Duty has increased, so will I have to pay an extra £5 or £20? BAA says no, and my travel agent doesn’t know. Any ideas? Bob Marshall, Glasgow

A Sunday Times travel expert responds: In his pre budget report last December, the Chancellor announced the doubling of Air Passenger Duty (APD) from February 1st. It’s estimated that about seven million passengers have already booked and paid for air travel leaving the UK after this date, i.e. before the airlines could collect the increased tax, and confusion reigns.

For short haul flights in economy, the rate doubles from £5 to £10 per passenger, and on long haul, it rises from £20 to £40. For business class, it’s now £10 and £40 respectively. Incidentally, a connecting flight to a long haul destination, as from Glasgow via Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, is classed as long haul for APD purposes.

It looked as though horror delays were looming, with check–in staff trying to collect the extra tax at their desks, but British Airways has decided to absorb the additional cost (for passengers that booked before the increase was announced). For people booking new flights, as with all other airlines, the increased tax is included in the fare calculations.

Tour operators won’t be passing on the extra tax for existing bookings either but it's forth checking with individual airlines before travel. A KLM spokesperson indicated that collecting the extra money at the airport won’t be appropriate, saying that “KLM understands the confusion surrounding increases in Airport Passenger Duty. At present, we face difficulties in collecting the outstanding monies from passengers that have already had tickets issued. The airline has addressed this issue with a letter to the chancellor and is awaiting feedback”.

It’s unlikely that the Treasury will budge, nor is it feasible to collect the money on departure, so I’d suggest sitting tight, and assuming that the problem will be resolved without you having to dig deeper into your pockets when you leave the UK.

Due to the high level of reader interest in this query, we secured this response from easyJet:

Unfortunately, easyJet have no choice but to pass on this cost on to customers as the government have demanded it and as a low cost airline our margins are so tight we cannot absorb the cost. I.e. easyJet makes £2.32 profit per passenger!

I can assure you we are as angry about this as you are as it is incredibly unfair and certainly will have no environmental impact.

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