Ryanair to refund children's air tax in time for Easter

Ryanair will pay back close to £2 million six weeks before Chancellor's deadline

Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary (Getty Images)

Ryanair has turned up the pressure on rivals by saying it will swallow some £2 million to refund children’s air tax six weeks earlier than the Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement.

The Air Passenger Duty — which adds £13 to a child’s fare to Europe — is to be abolished by the Government for kids’ plane seats from 1 May next year.

But Ryanair, which was joined by rival easyJet in refunding the duty, said it will pay it on behalf of families for the six weeks from 27 March so kids can fly tax free during the Easter holidays.

Ryanair called on the Government to “axe the tax for all” in the UK, citing a 10 per cent rise in tourist traffic in Ireland since it was abolished there in April with the extra VAT received exceeding the loss of APD.

“The UK should follow suit,” Ryanair said.