The airline now departing from Glasgow Airport blame the SNP Government..
Alicante AXED Berlin MOVED TO EDINBURGH Brussels Charleroi AXED Bydgoszcz Carcassonne Chania Derry Dublin airline’s review of their single aircraft bases. However, we have been left in no doubt it is also a consequence of the Scottish Government’s inability to introduce their proposed 50 per cent cut in air departure tax. “Despite clear and repeated warnings from both airports and airlines about the potential impact of this policy not being implemented, we are now faced with a stark scenario that includes Frankfurt AXED Gran Canaria AXED Krakow SAVED Lanzarote AXED Lisbon MOVED TO EDINBURGH London Stansted Madrid the loss of 20 services and a significant number of jobs.”
But Colin Howden, director of Transform Scotland, a charity promoting sustainable travel, said: “It’s ludicrous that Ryanair are claiming that their decision to pull out of Glasgow Airport is due to the aviation industry not being handed yet another tax cut by Government.
“Airlines pay no tax on aviation fuel, there is no VAT on tickets and airports benefit from dutyfree retail. How many more tax cuts do this most polluting of transport industries want?”
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said a move by the SNP Malaga AXED Palanga AXED Riga MOVED TO EDINBURGH Sofia MOVED TO EDINBURGH Valencia AXED Warsaw Modlin AXED Wroclaw SAVED Zadar AXED GovernmenttohalveAPDhadbeen “deferred” as EU approval was required under state aid rules.
But he said they remained “committed” to making the reduction “by the end of this Parliament”.
Mackay added: “We will continue to work in partnership with Ryanair and other airlines, and to support all Scottish airports, to do everything possible to grow the number of international routes to and from Scotland.”
Ryanair opened their Glasgow Airport base in 2014.
Their summer schedule will continue as planned.