The travel industry has reacted with fury after the government refused to use last week's budget to scrap proposed increases in air passenger duty. The hikes mean a family of four holidaying in the Caribbean in the winter of 2010/11 will pay £140 extra in taxes.

Despite a long-running campaign by Abta to abolish the tax, from November the amount of passenger duty - a tax levied per passenger and included in airfares - will increase and be split into four bands rather than two, with passengers being charged according to how far they fly and in which class. There will be further price increases in 2010.

In November the duty on short-haul flights will increase from £10 to £11, going up to £12 in November 2010. Business and first-class long-haul passengers will be charged £110, compared with the current level of £80. This will increase to £170 the following year.

Medium and long-haul travellers will be hit hardest, with a family of four travelling to places such as Egypt, which just falls within band 2, paying £240 from 2010 - £80 more than the current figure.

Travellers paying for a few extra inches of leg room in premium economy, offered on many long-haul charter flights, will be charged the same tax as business and first-class passengers.

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: "The rise in duty to destinations such as the Caribbean will be £600 for a family of four travelling in premium economy in 2010, compared with today's £160."

Travel firms have also criticised anomalies in the pricing. For example, it will be more expensive to fly to Barbados, an eight-hour flight from London, than to Los Angeles, 11 hours away, because the distance is only measured to each country's capital city.