A tax of up to £97 on plane tickets for children under 12 is being abolished on Friday, allowing thousands of families to claim back the money on flights they have booked.

Air passenger duty will not apply for young children on flights that depart from the UK from 1 May onwards. The tax costs £13 for short-haul flights, covering all of Europe, plus Turkey and north Africa. It can be as much as £97 for longer journeys.

The abolition of the tax initially only applies to seats booked in economy class for under-12s flying from Friday but will, from March 2016, be extended to all children under 16 in all seats.

The scrapping of air passenger duty (APD) on children’s tickets was announced by George Osborne in his autumn statement. It means that not only should flights be cheaper from 1 May but anyone who has already booked flights that leave from Friday can reclaim the charge.

Source: TheGuardian