The Airport Director has stated that the Isle of Man’s Air Passenger Duty (APD) is the main reason why easyJet is axing routes include Bristol and Belfast.
The Isle of Man has one of the highest Air Passenger Duty rates in the British Isles.
Speaking during a question and answer session at the Government Conference, Gary Cobb told delegates that the rates of APD charged by the Isle of Man was the key reason the airline had pulled those routes from the schedules.
Easyjet cited this as a ‘key reason’ why the Belfast service in particular was axed along with the seasonal Bristol route. Other routes are also under constant review.
Mr Cobb went on to say that other airlines such as Loganair and Emerald (Aer Lingus Regional) also agree that APD ‘decreases’ connectivity.
IOM Increases APD, Others Reduce
The Isle of Government increased its APD in this year’s budget, a move which has resulted in a direct loss of routes for Manx travelers.
Mr Cobb said that Jersey and Guernsey have a zero rate and the United Kingdom had halved its APD duties.
The Republic of Ireland has a zero rate of APD with the Scottish Government seeking to reduce it and possibly abolish it.
Travel groups say that some of the increased rates of air passengers duty can be avoided by Isle of Man residents if they start their ‘Long Haul’ journeys in Dublin. This is achieved by booking a separate ticket from their Isle of Man flight. Considerable savings can be made especially on long haul business class travel.
Treasury collects over £3 million a year from air passenger duty and this money goes in to general revenue and isn’t ring-fenced for transport infrastructure.
However industry travel experts and the airlines say that the returns by having better connectivity and cheaper fares, would far outstrip the loss of air passenger revenues if those duties were lowered or even abolished.
The loss of the EasyJet’s routes is further blow for the Isle of Man’s connectivity which is often seen as unreliable.
easyJet Commitment
The Airport Director also highlighted how unhelpful social media comments are and has warned about how unfounded rumors can become a ‘self fulfilling prophecy’.
Gary Cobb said that when people make statements such as “EasyJet are pulling out”, he says that these statements are blatantly untrue and then often result in a fall in the number of bookings as passenger confidence drops.
Mr Cobb said that often the result of the rumors, passenger loads fall, the airline then has to make a commercial decision on that route or the frequency of service.
He went on to say that Ronaldsway has regular dialogue with Easyjet and has quashed suggestions the carrier will be ‘pulling out’.
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