Families may get £142 back as child flight tax abolished

FAMILIES may get up to £142 of their money back on Easter and summer holiday flights after changes to Air Passenger Duty.

The charge on children aged 12 to 15 will be abolished from March 1, following a move by Chancellor George Osborne.

Parents who have already paid the duty, at £13 per head for short haul trips and £71 for long haul, are entitled to a refund.

It means a family of four with two children between 12 and 14 flying to destinations such as Florida could get up to £142 back.

But while some airlines and travel firms offer automatic refunds, others require customers to make a claim.

British Airways will automatically reimburse customers for flights booked after September 2015. But those who paid before that will need to apply online.

Budget firm easyJet is offering automatic refunds but Ryanair requires applications. If families fail to apply, the surplus cash will boost airlines’ profits.

APD was first abolished for the under-12s on May 1 last year.

Hannah Maundrell, editor-inchief of money.co.uk, said: ‘People should do what it takes to get the cash back.’

Some 58 per cent of parents thought firms should offer automatic refunds while a third did not want to apply, a poll found.