U.K. Air Passenger Duty 46.10
U.K. Passenger Service Charge 21.50
This are *FLAT RATES* but apparently even those rates vary from airline to airline. This is what British Airways has to say on their website to justify the additional fees:
Security and insurance surcharge
British Airways has introduced a passenger surcharge on all flights to help recoup some of the costs of additional security and insurance measures which have been taken, in line with government guidelines, since 11 September 2001. The airline joins more than 124 airlines worldwide who have introduced a security and insurance surcharge since the US attacks.
The surcharge applies, as detailed below, to all tickets issued from 9 November 2001. It applies to all passengers, including children and infants, on both international and domestic flights.
Additional measures that have been introduced since 11 September include extra baggage searches, increased security around aircraft while on the ground and reinforced cockpit doors. The airline's insurance premiums have also gone up significantly.
Surcharge rates - British Airways mainline operated services
For tickets sold in Surcharge per BA sector per person
UK £2.50
USA US$4.00
Australia US$3.30
Brazil US$6.00
Colombia US$7.70
Italy US$3.00
Irish Republic US$1.50
Japan US$5.00
New Zealand US$3.30
Portugal EUR 5.00
Spain EUR 5.00
All other applicable countries US$4.00
OK, that doesn't explain the hefty duties shown at the beginning of this post, but does anyone really feel any more secure than they did before September 11, 2001?? Are these airlines buying our confidence, or just taking advantage of our perceptions of the cost of security??
