The outcome of the recent Scottish Parliament Election leaves the SNP with not quite enough seats to get their proposal to reduce and then eliminate Air Passenger Duty (APD) easily passed. They seem to be courting the Greens on this issue, which may seem absurd, but then just how green a policy is Air Passenger Duty? I am uncertain, and I’d welcome guidance.
The reporting I’ve read on this topic disappoints me. Most of it refers to the possibility that more people will travel abroad from Scotland as tourists if APD is reduced or abolished. Since the APD on flights to the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean is only £13 return, I find it hard to believe there will be a significant upsurge. I think there are other issues to consider.
I’ll declare an interest – my grandchildren live in Saskatchewan, Canada. The youngest is ten. Thanks to legislation coming into force this year, she will not pay APD until she is 12. The difference is not to be sniffed at – journeys over 2,000 miles incur APD of £73, over 12% of her transatlantic charter fare this summer. The older one is 16, so full APD applies. These trips are not tourism, but an essential connection with their father and their extended Scottish family; in fact the oldest was kind enough to tell me this week that visiting me is ‘no holiday’. Well, he is a teen – I’ll swallow that one and move on!
It’s not just personal for me, however. Flights between Scotland and North America are significantly shorter than from London. Yet, except during the summer months, there are very few direct flights to the USA from Glasgow, and none at all to Canada. Leaving aside my personal frustration at having to fly from Glasgow to London and then fly back over Glasgow four or five hours later – I am appalled at the waste of fuel and damage to the environment. I don’t know how many passengers this affects and I can’t find any stats, but I conducted my own straw poll on a recent trip to Calgary via Heathrow. My flight down from Glasgow was delayed. Almost all of the passengers in my section of the plane were panicking about missing their onward flights to New York, Calgary, Washington, Seattle, etc. None of them were ending their journey in London.
Eliminating APD in Scotland would make the shorter transatlantic route from Scotland more viable. Glasgow Airport has room to expand; Heathrow doesn’t. The loss in tax would be made up in the expansion of the economy north of the border. Maybe I’m living in cloud cuckoo land.
C’mon, give me some counter arguments.
The reporting I’ve read on this topic disappoints me. Most of it refers to the possibility that more people will travel abroad from Scotland as tourists if APD is reduced or abolished. Since the APD on flights to the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean is only £13 return, I find it hard to believe there will be a significant upsurge. I think there are other issues to consider.
I’ll declare an interest – my grandchildren live in Saskatchewan, Canada. The youngest is ten. Thanks to legislation coming into force this year, she will not pay APD until she is 12. The difference is not to be sniffed at – journeys over 2,000 miles incur APD of £73, over 12% of her transatlantic charter fare this summer. The older one is 16, so full APD applies. These trips are not tourism, but an essential connection with their father and their extended Scottish family; in fact the oldest was kind enough to tell me this week that visiting me is ‘no holiday’. Well, he is a teen – I’ll swallow that one and move on!
It’s not just personal for me, however. Flights between Scotland and North America are significantly shorter than from London. Yet, except during the summer months, there are very few direct flights to the USA from Glasgow, and none at all to Canada. Leaving aside my personal frustration at having to fly from Glasgow to London and then fly back over Glasgow four or five hours later – I am appalled at the waste of fuel and damage to the environment. I don’t know how many passengers this affects and I can’t find any stats, but I conducted my own straw poll on a recent trip to Calgary via Heathrow. My flight down from Glasgow was delayed. Almost all of the passengers in my section of the plane were panicking about missing their onward flights to New York, Calgary, Washington, Seattle, etc. None of them were ending their journey in London.
Eliminating APD in Scotland would make the shorter transatlantic route from Scotland more viable. Glasgow Airport has room to expand; Heathrow doesn’t. The loss in tax would be made up in the expansion of the economy north of the border. Maybe I’m living in cloud cuckoo land.
C’mon, give me some counter arguments.