PASSENGERS paid more than £3 billion in air passenger duty last year, according to official figures.

The total of £3.17 billion for the airport departure tax for 2014/15 was 5.2 per cent more than in 2013/14, the HM Revenue and Customs’ statistics highlighted by airline body the British Air Transport Association showed.

Bosses at Leeds Bradford Airport have called for the abolition of APD — the so-called ‘flight tax’ — to level the playing field with European aviation competitors.

Bata said the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated the take from APD will increase by a further £500 million during the next Parliament despite the tax being abolished for under-12s from this Friday and for under-16s from March 2016.

It said the total number of passengers paying APD last year was 105.9 million with the amount of revenue raised increasing by more than 70 per cent since 2007.

The UK had the highest airport tax in Europe by a big margin and Bata said most European countries did not tax their citizens or visitors to fly abroad.

Bata chief executive Nathan Stower said: “These new statistics are worrying for anyone who cares about increasing exports, encouraging business growth and investment, as well as expanding tourism.

“It’s time to ask ourselves why our competitors either don’t tax air travel at all or do so at significantly lower rates.”