Simon Crean, the Australian Minister for Trade, has spoken out against the latest British tax hike on air travel, claiming that the new measures discriminate against those travellers bound for down under.

Since November last year the UK government has implemented air passenger duty increases under the guise of protecting the environment from harmful emissions which they claim can be off-set by price hikes by way of compensation. The tax changes are based solely on travelling distance meaning that tickets for distant destinations are subject to significantly higher levies than short haul travel. What this ultimately has meant is that Australian-bound passengers travelling in economy are now having to pay an additional £55 ($98 AUD) on top of their ticket price while first-class and business travellers are required to pay an extra £110 ($196 AUD).

However, the rate rises are not scheduled to end just yet as the British government has advised that from November this year yet another tax increase will result in charges of £85 ($152 AUD) for economy ticket-holders and £170 ($303 AUD) for those travelling in business and first class.

During London meetings yesterday Mr Crean has urged Peter Mandelson, the UK Business Secretary, to scrap the changes – a move echoed across the worldwide travel industry as the market still tries to right itself after the massive financial losses caused by the recession. Mr Crean spoke for most major operators when he said that what was initially launched as an environmental protection scheme had become nothing more than an obvious revenue-generating move.