FRESH pleas were made in parliament yesterday to overhaul a controversial and “damaging” tax on air passengers.

MPs and peers from across the country have raised serious concerns about the impact of air passenger duty (APD) ahead of the Chancellor unveiling his Budget on March 21.

The Journal’s A Tax Too Far campaign has already highlighted how the tax could damage regional airports such as Newcastle International.

North Tyneside Labour MP Mary Glindon is among 20 MPs from across the country to sign a Parliamentary motion expressing concern about the “considerable detrimental impact” of the tax on regional airports and business.

The motion – which has support across the political divide – warns the UK airline industry and leisure travellers are suffering as a result of the tax as it stands. The MPs want the Chancellor to “urgently” review the scale and extent of APD, particularly in light of the level of duties currently being implemented by other countries.

But those pleas so far appear to have fallen on deaf ears, despite an admission from a Treasury minister that the levy is a “burden” for businesses after he was challenged over anomalies in the system, particularly hitting flights to the Caribbean, in the House of Lords.

“In the current economic climate, air passenger duty is clearly a burden on all businesses whether in the Caribbean, the UK, or wherever else they are based,” said Lord Sassoon.

“That is why we had a one-year freeze, although it is right that aviation should make a fair contribution. However a banding structure works, it is bound to have anomalies.”

And he underlined the importance in terms of raising cash for the Government rather than it being a green tax.