BUDGET airline Wizz Air has warned that it could be forced to cut UK routes due to rising costs.
It comes after air passenger duty (APD) was raised in April – a tax on airlines that is usually then passed onto passengers by increasing flight fares.
Wizz Air boss József Váradi said that the airline will now look at whether the rise in APD will impact demand for its flights and depending on the results, whether any of the airlines routes should be cancelled.
The APD rise in April hit a record high and further increases are expected in the future.
On economy flight fares, APD rose from £13 to £15 in April, to most destinations across Europe.
For Brits travelling on holiday, this means that a family of four could be spending an extra £60 (£8 more than previously) before even adding luggage to their flight booking.
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While Wizz Air has not confirmed which flights are at risk, the airline currently flies to 77 destinations from the UK including holiday hotspots such as Alicante, Tenerife and Majorca in Spain.
The airline boss added that while Wizz Air is mostly happy with its services from the UK, “issues affecting the UK airline industry like APD charge increases” cannot be ignored.
He said: “We have to evaluate how exactly that plays out on our network, our customer base and our financial performance and make decisions accordingly.”
“If the cost of business is going up, that will result in capacity rationalisation if you are unable to pass it on to customers.”
The APD rise comes at a time when many airlines are already feeling the financial pressure of rising air fuel costs.
Váradi added: “I do not think the UK should be overcharging airline customers to raise funds for other activities and commitments, because this is going to undermine airlines and the UK is going to lose out on tourism at the end of the day.”
Sun Travel has contacted Wizz Air for comment.