You cancelled, or you simply did not turn up, and the airline kept the whole ticket price. Part of that money was never theirs to keep. Air Passenger Duty on two adults in economy to the United States is £204, and the airline only owes a penny of it to HMRC if you actually board the aircraft.
Almost nobody asks for it back, because the words “non-refundable” on the fare rule are taken to cover the entire price. They do not.
The short answer
On any ticket, refundable or not, you can reclaim the government duty and the per-passenger airport charges, because neither is incurred unless you fly. You cannot reclaim the airline’s own surcharge, which is revenue wearing the costume of a fee. The airline will charge an administration fee to process it, and on a short-haul economy ticket that fee can eat the whole refund.
| Line on your booking | What it is | Back if you do not fly? |
|---|---|---|
| Air fare | The airline’s price for the seat | Only if the fare rules allow it |
| Taxes | Air Passenger Duty and any foreign departure tax | Yes |
| Airport charges | Per-passenger charges the airport levies | Yes |
| Other charges and surcharges | Carrier-imposed surcharge, often labelled fuel or security | No, this is airline money |
Why is the duty refundable when the fare is not?
Because the duty is charged on the flight happening, not on the ticket being sold. Section 28 of the Finance Act 1994 imposes it “on the carriage on a chargeable aircraft of any chargeable passenger”. It “becomes due when the aircraft first takes off on the passenger’s flight”, and it “shall be paid by the operator of the aircraft”. Section 28(5) settles the rest: a person’s flight begins when they first board.
So if you never board, you were never a chargeable passenger, and the airline never owed HMRC anything for you. It collected the duty from you in advance as the operator who would have to pay it. When the liability does not arise, it is holding your money, not the Treasury’s. That is why the fare rules are beside the point here. A non-refundable fare tells you the airline keeps its price. It does not create a right to keep a tax that was never triggered.
How much is actually sitting there?
These are the rates in force now, from 1 April 2026. The band depends on the distance from London to the destination country’s capital city, and the rate depends on your class of travel.
| Band | Distance | Economy | Any other class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Within the UK | £8 | £16 |
| A | Up to 2,000 miles | £15 | £32 |
| B | 2,001 to 5,500 miles | £102 | £244 |
| C | Over 5,500 miles | £106 | £253 |
The economy column is what HMRC calls the reduced rate, and it applies to the lowest class on the aircraft where the seat pitch is under 40 inches. Everything else pays the standard rate. Paying extra for legroom does not move you into the standard rate, as long as the seat is not separated from ordinary seating and carries no other benefits. Paying to sit next to an empty seat, to board early or to use a lounge does not move you either.
Rates rise again on 1 April 2027, already published: £8.26 domestic economy, £15.49 in band A, £105.33 in band B and £109.46 in band C.
How do you find the taxes on your booking?
The law makes them itemise it. Article 23(1) of Regulation 1008/2008 says the final price must be shown at all times, and that in addition to that total, the seller must specify at least the air fare, the taxes, the airport charges, and other charges, surcharges or fees “such as those related to security or fuel”.
That fourth category is the one to read carefully. A carrier-imposed surcharge sits there looking like a tax and is not one. No government levies it, so nothing happens to it when you fail to fly, and the airline keeps it. Two tickets at the same headline price can therefore have very different refundable amounts, and the only way to know is to open the breakdown rather than the total.
Did you pay duty for a child who was exempt?
Check this one even if you did fly. Children under 16 on the date of the flight are exempt from Air Passenger Duty when they travel in the lowest class. Infants under 2 without their own seat are exempt whatever the class, and with a seat they are exempt in the lowest class. In any other cabin, and on business jets, none of that applies and children pay.
So a family of four in economy to Orlando owes duty on the two adults, £204, and nothing on the children. If your breakdown charged duty on four passengers, the difference is not a discount you failed to claim. It was never due.
Who else is exempt?
- Anyone departing an airport in the Scottish Highlands and Islands region. Flights into that region from elsewhere in the UK are not exempt.
- Direct long-haul departures from Northern Ireland, where the band B and band C rates are set at zero.
- Transit passengers who stop en route without changing aircraft, for the leg after the stop.
- Connecting passengers, on the second and any later flight of the journey. One trap sits here: fly the lowest class out of the UK onto a connecting flight in a higher class and the standard rate applies to the whole journey.
- Passengers on pleasure flights of 60 minutes or less that begin and end at the same airport, measured from the doors closing to the doors reopening.
One more worth knowing if your flight was moved. Where the routing changes for reasons outside the airline’s control, such as weather or a mechanical failure, HMRC bases the liability on the originally planned flight and destination, not the one you ended up taking.
What does it cost to ask?
An administration fee, and this is where the arithmetic decides it for you. The fee is not standardised and not set by law. Each airline publishes its own in its conditions of carriage or table of fees, so read that document before you apply rather than after.
The shape of the decision is simple. On a domestic or band A economy ticket, where the duty is £8 or £15 a head, a per-passenger fee can consume the refund entirely and you are working for nothing. On a band B or C ticket at £102 or more a head, or on any booking for several passengers, it is not close. Add up the refundable lines for everyone on the booking first, then compare that against the fee for the whole claim.
The mistakes that lose the money
Reading “non-refundable” as covering everything is the common one, and it is what the whole industry quietly relies on. The others are almost as frequent. People claim the carrier surcharge as a tax and get the whole request rejected, when asking only for the taxes and airport charges would have worked. They wait, and miss the time limit their airline sets in its conditions of carriage. They accept a voucher, which converts cash they were owed into credit with the company that owed it.
And some claim the wrong thing entirely. If the airline cancelled the flight, this is not your claim. You are owed the full fare back within seven days, and often 250 to 600 euro in compensation on top. Asking for a tax refund in that situation settles for a fraction of what you are entitled to. The same goes if the airline has stopped flying altogether, where the route to your money runs through your card provider or ATOL rather than the airline. If a solvent airline simply refuses a legitimate tax refund, a chargeback or a Section 75 claim is the next step.
Frequently asked questions
Does this really work on a non-refundable ticket? Yes. The fare rules govern the airline’s own price. They cannot make a duty due when no aircraft took off with you on it.
What if I was a no-show rather than cancelling? Same answer. Section 28 turns on boarding, not on telling anyone in advance.
Do children pay Air Passenger Duty? Not under 16 in the lowest class of travel, and not infants under 2 without a seat in any class. In a higher cabin they do.
Is the fuel surcharge a tax? No. It is a charge the carrier imposes on its own behalf and keeps. Regulation 1008/2008 makes it appear on its own line precisely so it is not mistaken for one.
How long do I have? Your airline sets that in its conditions of carriage rather than statute, so check the document for your carrier and treat it as the deadline.
Sources: Section 28 of the Finance Act 1994 on legislation.gov.uk for the charge to duty and when it becomes due; HMRC’s Rates for Air Passenger Duty for the bands and the 2026 and 2027 figures; HMRC’s Exemptions from Air Passenger Duty for children, transit, connected flights and the regional exemptions; and Article 23(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 for the itemised price breakdown. Administration fees are set by each airline in its own conditions of carriage and are not quoted here because they are neither standardised nor published in one place.
Researched from primary sources and checked September 2026. General information, not advice.
