Aviation Strategy

Written evidence from Howard and Diane Turner (AS 04)

As a private individual, together with my wife, I would like to put on record our opposition to Air Passenger duty per se. We consider this a stealth tax which limits people’s freedom to travel by air and therefore to ‘broaden their horizons’ and gain a greater understanding of the wider world.

If one wishes to travel to visit areas of the world beyond mainland Europe one realistically has to travel by air. The additional costs of ‘Air Tax’ severely restrict the extent to which the voting public, living on limited budgets, can afford to exercise its freedom of choice with regard to air travel. It makes it particularly difficult for families living in different parts of the world to reunite on a regular basis; times of economic hardship aggravate the problem even more!

With regard to the other issues covered by the committee I have no relevant knowledge as our home is many miles from the nearest civil airport and therefore cannot comment.

Please abandon this unfair stealth tax.

25 September 2012