A controversial increase in duty charged on all passengers flying out of the UK could add $79 to an economy Bermuda-London return fare.

But it was unclear last night whether British Airways (BA), the only airline to serve the UK-Bermuda route, would pass on to passengers the extra cost of what amounts to a doubling of UK Government duty.

Britain’s Finance Minister Gordon Brown announced the new charge on December 6 last year and said it would help compensate for damage to the environment.

The charge, which even applied to those who had bought their tickets before Mr. Brown’s announcement, was enforced from yesterday.

British Airways, the only airline to fly from the UK to Bermuda, has announced that it will absorb the extra cost for all tickets purchased before December 12 — at an estimated cost to the company of more than $20 million.

An announcement on BA’s web-site yesterday stated: “Tickets booked after December 12, 2006 will already include this increase in duty.”

However, a spokesperson at BA’s office at Bermuda International Airport said that the company had not yet added the extra duty, nor had any notification been sent from London to add it in the near future.

The duty increase for long-haul flights will be $40 ($79) for an economy seat and $80 ($158) for a business or first-class fare.

Flights inside Europe and internal UK flights will be subject to a $10 ($19.70) increase for standard fares and $20 ($39) for business and first-class.

The Board of Airline Representatives, whose clients include British Airways, as well as Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Air France, said it was still considering legal action against the UK Government over the new payment.

“We’re not ruling it out. It’s a very complex area and it brings us into debate with either domestic law or international law,” spokesman Mike Carrivick said.

Mr. Carrivick said the retrospective application of the duty on passengers leaving yesterday, but who had purchased their tickets before Mr. Brown’s December 6 announcement, was a “huge burden”.

Tour operator First Choice said it was launching a legal challenge on the way the new tax was introduced without a debate and subsequent approval in the British Parliament.

“The lawyers have said (the government) failed to get parliamentary approval correctly in the way they’ve processed it,” said spokesman Dermot Blastland. “We feel it’s been rushed in, it’s unfair and particularly the retrospective nature as well.”

A BBC News report said yesterday some airlines were collecting money from passengers at UK airports yesterday, in cases where customers had bought their tickets before the extra duty had been added on. This had led to widespread irritation, the BBC added.