Holiday flight boost as Ruth backs plan to scrap air tax

THE cost of family holidays could be drastically cut after the Scottish Conservatives revealed they will back plans to scrap a controversial airport tax.

Ruth Davidson will perform a major U-turn today by confirming her party will support the abolition of air passenger duty (APD) for long-haul economy flights.

The move would result in a £75 saving per person on flights to countries such as the United States, Turkey and Thailand – slashing the cost of family holidays by hundreds.

SNP ministers want to cut APD 50 per cent by 2021, with the first reduction coming in 2018 when Holyrood gets powers over the tax.

The Scottish Government has also announced it wants to abolish it entirely ‘when public finances permit’. Until now, none of the oppoAPD sition parties were willing to back the move – meaning it looked destined for defeat.

The Scottish Conservatives proposal, to be unveiled today, backs complete abolition of APD in 2018 – but only for economy class long-haul flights of 2,000 miles or more. It would also halve the tax charged on business class tickets.

It means the SNP will need to decide whether to alter its plans to secure the Tories’ support when legislating.

A senior Tory source said: ‘We don’t support a blanket 50 per cent cut but we would abolish APD completely on long haul economy flights and freeze it for short-haul.

‘Having spoken to airlines and airports, the feedback we get is this would encourage airlines to lay on direct long-haul flights to places like the USA, China and Turkey.’

The source said the tax cut formed part of a ‘post-Brexit’ strategy, helping Scotland to seize global opportunities and stimulate economic growth.

Lacking a parliamentary majority, the SNP proposal seemed unlikely to pass after Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens opposed the cut. But the new position adopted by the Conservatives – which said in its manifesto for May’s Holyrood elections it ‘will not support the Scottish Government’s proposed 50 per cent cut in APD’ – reopens the possibility of it being passed.

It is understood that no talks have yet taken place between the SNP and the Tories.

The Scottish Greens have repeatedly pressured the SNP to drop the proposal because it encourages air travel.

But the Tory source said: ‘If you want to fly to China via Heathrow or Schiphol that would be a greater carbon footprint than a direct flight. This will encourage direct flights.’

The proposal won the support of the airline industry last night. Craig Kreeger, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said: ‘The Scottish Government has rightly identified APD as a barrier to growth and the proposal by the Scottish Conservatives to abolish the tax on long-haul flying would provide a huge boost for the economy in time for Brexit.’

Dale Keller, chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK, which represents 70 airlines, welcomed SNP and Tory moves to dismantle ‘this unpopular and regressive tax’.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Our plan to cut APD by 50 per cent by the end of the parliament, and then abolish it when public finances permit, is a fundamental component to improving Scotland’s international connectivity.’