'Flight tax cut could mean more Newquay services'

Ryanair chief executive officer Eddie Wilson said scrapped APD would mean airlines could do "so much more"

The boss of Ryanair said more flights could be offered to and from Cornwall Airport Newquay if Air Passenger Duty (APD) was abolished by the government.

APD is a tax on flights which depart from the UK and are paid by aircraft operators - the tax is usually passed onto passengers with their ticket price.

Eddie Wilson, Ryanair's chief executive officer, said he could do "so much more" in Newquay if APD was scrapped.

A HM Treasury spokesperson said the tax had "fallen behind inflation in recent years" and the government maintained similar rates to France and Germany.

Mr Wilson said: "It's harder for places like Newquay to attract airlines like Ryanair.

"We could do so much more here if they got rid of this stupid APD.

"It does nothing for the locality and it's just an easy tax to collect.

"But what happens is airlines don't put as much capacity in, so we could do so much more here."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased APD, which came into effect on 1 April.

The levy was first introduced in 1994 and was designed to raise money, but it has also been seen by some as having potential environmental benefits by discouraging people from taking certain flights.

A Treasury spokesperson said that, unlike other sectors, no VAT was applied to aeroplane tickets and there was no tax on jet fuel.

"Changes to the rate of Air Passenger Duty have significantly fallen behind inflation in recent years," they said.

"These changes mean we maintain similar rates to France and Germany, and will add just £2 for a family of four flying economy to Spain, with under-16s exempt."