£1.70 a litre avgas
As feared, the Treasury seems to have interpreted the EC harmonisation of tax as a 29 pence per litre rise in the price of avgas and an increase of 30 to 33 pence in Jet-A1. AOPA has been in discussion with the Treasury about these rises. It’s not necessarily all doom and gloom – a compromise may yet be worked out, but the aviation community seems certain to face a period of great insecurity. One likely outcome is that aircraft certificated to run on car petrol will see an increase in popularity. Given the difficulty in refuelling at licensed airports from jerrycans, the trend to unlicensed strips and microlights, VLAs and Permit aircraft also seems likely to increase.
