BA cuts recruitment by half after Air Passenger Duty rise

British Airways has it said it will hire half as many staff as planned next year due to a rise in Air Passenger Duty (APD).

Yesterday the Government confirmed that APD will rise by 8% next year, a move opposed by airline bosses and many passengers.

Willie Walsh, boss of BA parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) said that the harm done to the economy by the rise will far outweigh any money raised.

"I believe that this tax is actually doing more harm than good, I believe the impact on the economy is significantly greater than the tax revenue the chancellor is looking at," he said.

BA said that it will now only hire 400 new staff members in 2012, rather than the 800 planned, and the company will review plans to bring in an extra Boeing 747.

The Government said it was “clearly disappointed” by the announcement but said that APD raised £2.5bn for public coffers which was important in dealing with the financial deficit.

A Treasury spokesman said: "The government has been consistent that the aviation sector must play its part in reducing the deficit and restoring the public finances," said

"It is worth noting that unlike other European countries, the UK does not levy VAT on domestic flights and aviation fuel is not taxed. The aviation industry will also benefit from the cut in corporation tax."

Under the new rates, economy passengers flying less than 2,000 miles will pay an extra £1 per journey.

To negate the effects of the APD rise, Looking4Parking is abolishing the booking fee for airport parking and everything else we offer, and what's more, we don't charge anything for using credit or debit cards!