Ryanair believes one change could be made to allow Liverpool John Lennon Airport to 'flourish'.
The budget airline confirmed its summer schedule from Liverpool this week and announced it was expanding its operations at the Speke-based airport, adding a fourth plane and creating jobs in the process.
Ryanair will increase its capacity to more than 255 weekly flights from Liverpool this summer - a 15% increase from 2022. The decision to base a new plane at the airport will create 30 jobs for pilots and cabin crew.
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Dara Brady, Ryanair's director of marketing, told the ECHO that the improved operation at John Lennon Airport reflects the city's offering for tourists, a significant appetite for foreign travel in the region and the airport's recent performance.
Mr Brady praised the way the airport had responded to the covid-pandemic and its recovery since. However, he said more could be done to assist Liverpool, specifically calling on the government to scrap Air Passenger Duty (APD).
APD is a duty that is charged per passenger flying from UK airports to domestic and international destinations. It follows a band structure, where duty rates vary by destination and by class of travel.
The duty is designed to ensure that airlines make a contribution to public finances, as tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no fuel duty. In the financial year 2021/2022 APD brought in £1billion in tax receipts.
APD will be halved for domestic flights from April, leading to Ryanair launching a number of new UK domestic routes. However, the airline wants the government to go further.
Mr Brady told the ECHO: "We think the UK government needs to do more to support airports like Liverpool and the region.
"They've halved the APD on domestics and Ryanair responded with setting up domestic routes from East Midlands from Belfast, Manchester, East Midlands and places like that. If the government went further and scrapped APD, they would really revitalise tourism and give airports like Liverpool a shot in the arm - there would be even more growth opportunities.
"We have a great relationship with the airport, but we think the government could be doing a lot more to support airports like Liverpool. The quickest way they could do that is by scrapping the APD tax, which would incentivise additional growth and airports like Liverpool would be the beneficiary, I think Liverpool would flourish."
Responding to Ryanair's call for APD to be scrapped, a Treasury spokesperson said: “We are absolutely committed to levelling up regions around the UK by helping their economies to grow, which is why we have slashed domestic Air Passenger Duty in half to support our regional airports.
“Throughout the pandemic we backed airports with measures including the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme, worth more than £160 million, loan guarantees and the furlough scheme, and we will continue to stand by the sector throughout the current global economic challenges.”
Environmental concerns have also been raised with regard to APD, with certain groups questioning the decision to encourage people to fly more. Additionally, campaign for Better Transport (CBT) wants private jet passengers to pay £780 APD for every flight from the UK. That could raise around £1.4 billion each year, CBT said.
Larger private jets will not benefit from lower APD on domestic flights and will pay more in a new ultra long-haul band on international flights. The government says this will ensure those that fly the furthest will contribute the most.
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