Boost for jobs from air tax cut

CuTTING the tax paid by air travellers in half could boost Scotland’s economy by £1billion by 2020 and create almost 4,000 new jobs, a report has suggested.

Research for Edinburgh Airport claimed that 700,000 more passengers would come through Scotland’s airports in the first year, rising to about 900,000 after five years.

Now bosses want the Scottish Government to set a timetable for cutting the levy when powers over air passenger duty (APD) are devolved.

Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar said: ‘ We’ve l ong argued that APD is a tax on Scotland’s ability to compete with European airports of our size and our economy is footing the bill in lost jobs and lost opportunities.

‘It’s therefore reasonable for passengers, airlines and the tourism industry to have some certainty on when this regressive tax will be reduced.’