In an attempt to stop the Government from further increasing the Air Passenger Duty (APD) this November, ABTA is calling on travellers to write to their MPs.

APD, which currently raises £2 billion for the Government, was introduced in 1994 and has seen several increases since.

Prior to 1 November 2009, 

fees were set at Reduced Rates (economy seats)
£10 for European destinations and £40 for all other destinations. Standard Rates (premium seats, including business class only airlines)
 were £20 for European destinations and
 £80 for all other destinations. On 1 November 2009, four geographical bands were introduced based on the distance from London.

The 2009 APD duty applicable for a single flight was levied at:

• Band A – flights to Europe £11
• Band B – flights of up to 4,000 miles £45
• Band C – flights to the Caribbean £50
• Band D – flights to Australia and New Zealand £60
• For Premium seats the charges are double.

A further increase is set to be introduced this November with the fees increasing to:

• Band A – flights to Europe £12
• Band B – flights of up to 4,000 miles £60
• Band C – flights to the Caribbean £75
• Band D – flights to Australia and New Zealand £85

For Premium seats the charges are double at:

• Band A – flights to Europe £24
• Band B – flights of up to 4,000 miles £120
• Band C – flights to the Caribbean £150
• Band D – flights to Australia and New Zealand £170

In 2009 the Telegraph launched a campaign to get the APD scrapped. To find out more, and to add your name to their petition click here.

British Airways is to launch a new winter route to Chambery from London City Airport.

The new London City flights will be operated four times per week (Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays) by BACityFlyer commencing 18 December 2010 until the end of March 2011.

To book London City airport parking and London City airport hotels click on the links.

CityJet is to extend its seasonal flights to Brive from London City Airport.

The summer season service to Brive was scheduled to stop on 12 September, however, the airline will now operate the London City Airport flights until 31 October 2010. Flights operate on Fridays and Sundays.

British Airways is to launch flights to Copenhagen from London City Airport.

The flights will commence on 12 September 2010 and operate twice daily during the week by BA CityFlyer.

To book London City airport parking and London City airport hotels click on the links.

The London Triathlon, the world’s largest triathlon, is taking place over the weekend of 7 and 8 August 2010.

The event will result in several road closures and passengers travelling to London City Airport are advised to allow extra time for their journey.

A full list of road closures can be found here: www.thelondontriathlon.co.uk/LTRoadclosures.html

To book London City airport parking and London City airport hotels click on the links.

The CAA is once again highlighting the need for passengers to be aware of items that are banned from being carried on a plane after a man was convicted of attempting to take dangerous chemicals on to an aircraft at Manchester Airport last year.

The man was found guilty of ‘recklessly acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft’ after he pleaded guilty to attempting to take corrosive and flammable chemicals on to a plane.

Geoff Leach, Manager of the CAA’s Dangerous Goods Office, said: “Unlike items restricted for reasons of security (eg knives and scissors) which may be carried safely in checked (hold) baggage, “dangerous goods” such as the chemicals involved in this instance can pose the same danger to the aircraft and its occupants wherever they are carried and consequently must not be carried by passengers at all.

“It is vital that passengers check the list of permitted items well in advance of travel to determine whether any unusual items they wish to carry are allowed. Unfortunately, incidents like this cause delays and disruption to the travelling public as well as endangering the safety of passengers and staff at UK airports throughout the year. “

Dangerous goods that must NOT be taken on board an aircraft are:

• explosives, such as fireworks, flares, toy gun caps;
• gases, such as culinary blowtorches, camping or compressed gas cylinders, tear gas, mace or CS gas devices;
• flammable materials such as petrol, lighter fuel, paint, thinners, non-safety matches, firelighters;
• poisons, such as weed killers, insecticides; and · corrosives, such as filled car batteries.

Passengers requiring further information about what they can and can’t transport on aircraft can contact the CAA’s Dangerous Goods Office on 01293 573900.

British Airways has now confirmed its flight schedule up until 9 June and plans to operate all flights to and from Gatwick and London City airports.

For Heathrow flights passengers should check the status of their flights here: www.britishairways.com/rtad/travel/public/en_us

To book Gatwick airport parking or Help Me Park’s Gatwick valet meet and greet parking click on the links.

British Airways has announced its schedule for flights during the next period of strike action by cabin crew, 30 May and 4 June.

All flights to and from Gatwick and London City Airport are scheduled to operate.

The flight schedule at Heathrow has now been confirmed and passengers should check the status of their flights here: www.britishairways.com/rtad/travel/public/en_us

To book Gatwick meet and greet parking and Gatwick taxi transfers click on the links.

The second scheduled period of strike action by BA cabin crew started at midnight and is set to run until 28 May.

British Airways has confirmed that flights to and from Gatwick and London City airport will operate as normal.

The airline also expects to operate more than 60 percent of it long-haul flights to and from Heathrow and more than 50 percent of its short-haul flights.

Flights operated by subsidiary OpenSkies between Paris and New York and Paris and Washington will operate as normal, as will flights operated by British Airways franchise partners (Comair in South Africa and Sun Air in Scandinavia).

BA codeshare flights operated by other airlines will operate as normal.

Passengers should check the BA website for further information on the status of their flights here: www.britishairways.com/rtad/travel/public/en_us

There’s also a great article of BA passenger FAQs on the telegraph website here: www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7297801/BA-strikes-consumer-QandA.html

To book Gatwick meet and greet and Gatwick taxi transfers click on the links.

British Airways has announced it plans to operate all flights to and from London City airport and London Gatwick during the next period of strike action – 24 – 29 May 2010 – and has confirmed its schedule of flights during the same period at London Heathrow.

To check the flight status of your BA flight click here

To book Gatwick meet and greet and Gatwick taxi transfers click on the links.