Travellers using European hubs as their long haul departure point in order to escape paying the UK’s APD taxes are unlikely to be protected under the terms and conditions of their travel insurance policy should anything go wrong with their flight from the UK.

Stuart Bensusan, of leading travel insurance and essentials provider EssentialTravel.co.uk, explains:  

 “The recently announced APD hikes may lead to many long-haul travellers taking a short haul flight first to European hubs to avoid the higher tax they’d be charged if flying directly from a UK airport - the Netherlands, for example, scrapped departure taxes in 2009.

“In doing so travellers could expose themselves to unnecessary risks that they may not be aware of - in the majority of cases holiday makers are unlikely to be covered under their travel insurance if they miss their long-haul flight as a result of their first, short-haul flight being delayed - normally it’s the initial international journey that is covered.”