APD: JA PM vows to fight

Amid the doom and gloom a ray of sunlight shines at the end of the Jamaican tunnel.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has said that Jamaica and the wider region will continue to lobby against the unfair Airport Passenger Duty (APD) imposed by Britain.

The APD is a travel tax charged by the UK government, which is applied according to the distance travelled by passengers to and from UK airports, with those who travel the farthest paying more.

The Caribbean is in band C, which means that passengers travelling to and from the Caribbean pay more than those travelling to and from the United States, which is in the cheaper band B.

The environment tax is biased towards the richer nations who use up the majority of the earth’s resources, and Prime Minister Golding believes the Caribbean APD levy is in conflict with established global rules of trade.

Joined by new Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister Tillman Thomas of Grenada, Prime Minister Golding has pledged to continue to oppose the “United Kingdom’s manifestly unjust Airport Passenger Duty” charges paid by Caribbean travelers.

But in the meantime there is good news for those of us who will be on the sandy beaches of Jamaica this summer.

Air Jamaica has said that it will be offering cheap flights to Jamaica from Heathrow direct to Montego Bay in July. To boost tourism to South America and the Caribbean new services will be introduced, including new thrice-weekly flights direct from Heathrow to Mo’bay, made possible by Air Jamaica’s recent merger with Trinidad’s Caribbean Airlines (CAL).

Rum punch? Yes please!

Winsome-Grace Cornish