Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 airline, today (31 March) announced that it has responded to the UK Govt’s 50% cut to Air Passenger Duty (APD) for domestic travel from April ’23, with the opening of 9 new domestic routes to/from Belfast, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Edinburgh. East Midlands, London, Manchester and Newquay.
However, this 50% reduction ignores international connectivity which is fundamental for the growth of the UK’s economy and tourism.
Ryanair calls again on the UK Govt to fully abolish APD for all travel immediately, which would not only promote tourism, but also support job growth, and much needed connectivity to the UK – an island-based economy on the edge of Europe.
Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan, said:
“Ryanair is pleased to announce 9 new domestic UK routes in direct response to the UK Govt’s 50% reduction in UK APD from tomorrow, 1 Apr.
"Reducing APD will result in market growth in the UK, and these new routes show just that with 74 weekly flights scheduled across Belfast, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Edinburgh. East Midlands, London, Manchester and Newquay representing 95% growth on our UK domestic schedule compared to last Summer.
"While the halving of APD on domestic flights from Apr ‘23 has allowed Ryanair to add more domestic routes to our UK schedule for Summer ’23, if we are to continue to grow and drive traffic/tourism recovery for the UK, the UK Govt should immediately scrap APD for all travel and provide incentives for airlines like Ryanair to stimulate growth and recovery for the entire UK market.”
UK customers can now book one of Ryanair’s new UK domestic routes on www.Ryanair.com.