接：Air Passenger Duty
“Start Quote
APD is a bad environmental tax as there is no relation between the level of the tax and the level of emissions”
End Quote Easyjet official statement
Mr Walsh used the opportunity of the financial results release to criticise a tax rise on passengers due to kick in next week.
"Excessive taxation puts aviation's social and economic benefits at risk," said the company in its press release.
Air Passenger Duty (APD) will increase by up to 55% on some long-haul flights, the company claimed.
"Aviation supports more than 500,000 jobs in the UK and provides the transport links that are vital to the success of UK businesses in a globalised economy."
The UK government says the tax increase will better reflect the cost of carbon emissions by the airline industry.
"We already meet our carbon costs twice over even before these increases," claimed BA.
On Thursday, BA's bitter rival Virgin Atlantic also criticised the tax change, claiming it would make family holidays unaffordable for many.
'Bad tax'
Easyjet also joined the bandwagon, saying that the rise, to £12 on flights within Europe, means the tax will have increased by 140% since 2007.
"APD is a bad environmental tax as there is no relation between the level of the tax and the level of emissions," said the budget airline on Friday.
"Transfer passengers joining flights departing from the UK pay no tax and those travelling on private jets remain exempt, while ordinary passengers bear the full burden of the tax."
Both parties in the coalition promised during the election to switch the duty from a passenger tax into a per-flight tax, in order to reflect the actual environmental impact of the airline industry.