The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) today condemned Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ Budget as “bad news for the aviation industry”.

The budget raises Air Passenger Duty (APD), which BALPA says will hit families going on holiday the hardest. It also makes no provision to address the UK’s urgent need to train new pilots.

The union – which represents over 10,000 UK airline pilots – warned earlier this week that pilot training, which currently costs over £100,000, is unaffordable for many young people today. This means there will not be enough UK-trained pilots to fill airline vacancies in the future.

BALPA Director for Strategy and Reform Alice Sorby said, “This Budget is bad news for the aviation industry. Firstly, the Chancellor has ignored calls from BALPA – the voice of airline pilots – and the industry and announced plans to increase Air Passenger Duty in line with RPI from April 2027. Bad news for passengers, especially families going on holiday, who now face increased ticket prices.

“But it’s even more bad news for young people considering a career as a pilot. Rachel Reeves has missed an opportunity to deliver any measures that will make their eye-watering training costs more affordable. This simply isn’t good enough.

“Most people don’t have the means to cover £100,000 for training without a guaranteed job at the end. Too many who have the skills and ambition are giving up on their dreams of flying, and the UK is losing out as a result.

“If the Government wants to drive economic growth through expanding Heathrow, it needs to ensure we have the right skills to fill the new jobs the airport will create. The new runway will deliver 276,000 new flights to the UK every year. We want to see UK-trained pilots in the cockpits of those flights, and Rachel Reeves needs to make pilot training more affordable to achieve this.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

BALPA represents over 10,000 UK pilots.