Cancelled flight? Passengers urged to reclaim tax

Travellers who have flights cancelled are being encouraged to reclaim the tax they have pre-paid on the failed transaction.

Some reports suggest that Air Passenger Duty (APD is not reclaimed because it is a time-consuming exercise.

But a survey by, the web-based flight finder Skyscanner, suggest that the majority of airline customers are unaware that they can obtain refunds by applying to the airline.

The survey found that 60% of users had not claimed back tax because they did not know that they could, while only 5% of respondents could not be bothered.

Only 9% of all those surveyed had actually claimed back their tax.

Gareth Williams, CEO Skyscanner said:"“Air Passenger Duty (APD), a government tax levied on UK airlines, is only paid to the government after the flight has taken off and can therefore be claimed back if passengers fail to fly or have had their flights cancelled.

"Our users tend to be fairly savvy when it comes to travel so I am surprised that so many are unaware of the fact they can claim this back.

"With Air Passenger Duty tax in excess of £100 for a long haul premium cabin there’s a lot of money going unclaimed.”

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