Yesterday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed the contents of his new Budget, detailing the government’s tax and spending plans for the year ahead.
In that, Sunak disclosed that from April 2023 there would be an increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) fees, meaning that passengers travelling for long-haul flights (deemed as trips over 5,500 miles) would see an increase of £91 for economy class tickets. Business class and premium economy seats would double this amount.
While this may seem like a huge jump in flight premiums, it’s worth knowing that this rate will only actually be a few more pounds than the current long-haul fee of £82 on economy flights, which is due to increase to £84 per passenger from April 2022.
Travellers should make sure that if they are spending more on a holiday further afield, that their policy fully protects the cost of their trip.
In particular, it is essential that holidaymakers fully understand the cancellation limit in their policy, as this is the amount that an insurer will allow them to claim up to if they need to cancel their trip. The cancellation cover limit should either match or surpass the amount spent on a trip, otherwise, travellers could end up not being able to claim the full holiday cost.
Cancellation limits can be shown as either an amount per person or as the overall trip cost in a policy so be sure to check them when buying your policy.
Lastly, whether your holiday is likely to be affected by the new APD fees or not, we strongly recommend that you take the time to fully understand the cover your chosen policy includes, and the various cover limits it has, to make sure you are not disappointed if you have to later submit a claim.
