Budget 2025 - Holiday Tax - When Flying Becomes a Luxury"

29th November 2025

Budgets are often judged by what they give and what they take away. In the November 2025 Budget, one of the most striking examples of this double act was the change to Air Passenger Duty (APD).

For families dreaming of a summer holiday abroad, the announcement felt less like a gift and more like a bill slipped under the door.

What Changed
From April 2026, APD will rise:

Short‑haul flights (under 2,000 miles): Duty increases from £13 to £15 per passenger.

Long‑haul flights (over 2,000 miles): The hikes are far steeper, with some destinations facing nearly double the current rate.

Premium travel: Business and first‑class tickets will carry even higher duties, making upgrades more costly.

On paper, these are modest adjustments. In practice, they add up quickly when multiplied across a family.

The Family Impact
For households, APD is not an abstract fiscal lever — it's a line item on the holiday budget:

A family of four flying to Spain will pay £60 in APD, up from £52.

A trip to Florida or Australia could see hundreds of pounds added to the total cost.

Children over the age of two are included, so families with young kids are directly affected.

The result is clear: foreign holidays become more expensive, and for many families, less attainable.

The Government's Rationale
Ministers frame the rise as part of climate policy and fiscal responsibility. Higher APD is meant to discourage unnecessary flights, reduce emissions, and raise revenue to support public services. In theory, it aligns with broader sustainability goals.

The Critics' View
Airlines, unions, and consumer groups argue the policy unfairly penalises families. For them, APD is less about climate and more about squeezing households already facing frozen tax thresholds, rising living costs, and stealth levies elsewhere in the Budget. The fear is that foreign travel will become a luxury reserved for the wealthy, deepening social divides.

The Bigger Picture
The APD hike is emblematic of how Budgets often operate: headline measures promise relief, while hidden costs quietly reclaim it. Families may welcome lower energy bills or expanded free school meals, but they will also face higher taxes on savings, frozen thresholds, and now, pricier holidays. It is the classic "give with one hand, take with the other" dynamic.

The November 2025 Budget’s changes to Air Passenger Duty remind us that fiscal policy touches everyday life in unexpected ways.

For families, the holiday tax is more than a line in a Treasury spreadsheet — it’s a tangible reminder that even leisure is subject to the balancing act of public finances. Flying may not yet be a luxury, but for many households, it is drifting closer to becoming one.