Families with children will save hundreds of pounds on the cost of their holidays after George Osborne axed taxes on flights, the UK media was reporting this week.

The Chancellor abolished air passenger duty on all flights for children under the age of 12, the Daily Mail said. Ten months after that, under 16s will be exempt in all classes of travel.

Mr Osborne’s Autumn Statement announcement is a major boost for families who are hit by higher holiday costs during term time.

The current rate is £13 for short-haul flights, of up to around 2,000 miles – covering all of Europe plus Turkey

The £50 million tax break cuts £138 from the price of a family of four’s holiday to North America – and almost £200 for a family of four travelling to Australia.

It will also reduce the cost of a family holiday to Spain by £26.

The tax currently adds between £13 and £97 to the cost of a flight, depending on how far the final destination is from London.

A campaign in Parliament calling for the measure to be included in the Autumn Statement has widespread support.

Mr Osborne said: ‘We’re going to require airlines to list the charges separately from taxes on tickets.

‘But I also want to reduce the cost of those tickets for families directly.

‘From May 1 next year, Air Passenger Duty for children under 12 will be abolished. And I’ll go further. From the following year, we’ll get rid of Air Passenger Duty for children under 16 altogether.’