Founder Perry Wilson is urging the Government to exempt people from paying the ‘extortionate tax’ if they offset the carbon emissions of their flight.
He slated the Government for calling APD a green tax yet not revealing where the money goes.
InsureandGo has launched a carbon offset option for customers and is calling on other insurers to do the same, in order to lobby the Government over APD.
Research by the insurer shows more than 1,000 weekly flights to and from UK airports have been cancelled in the last year and it expects this to increase because of the hike in APD.
‘The rise in APD is simply going to make matters worse for the travel industry, and yet we don’t know what environmental benefits it actually brings,’ Wilson said.
Any InsureandGo travel insurance customer can opt in to the new scheme and pay from between £1.60 per person for short-haul flights to £10.55 for longer trips, to offset the environmental impact of their journey.
All the money raised by the scheme will be spent on renewable energy projects audited and approved by carbon management company Carbon Clear.
‘The more people who offset their travel, the easier it is for us to stand up to the government on APD,’ added Wilson.
Representatives from across the travel trade have lobbied against APD, including easyJet, which yesterday announced swingeing cuts which were partly due to the tax.
See also:
easyJet switches aircraft to more profitable bases (03/09/2009)
Government ‘taxing families out of the sky’ (05/08/2009)
WTTC calls for abolition of APD (04/08/2009)
O’Leary attacks APD as Ryanair Q1 profits soar (27/07/2009)
APD hike threatens jobs and economy (25/06/2009)