Flights increase shows absurdity of air tax plan
Figures showing a 30% increase in air passengers over the last five years should see the Scottish Government’s absurd plans to slash air passenger duty scrapped, according to Scottish Greens Finance spokesperson Patrick Harvie MSP.
The Scottish Transport Statistics published today (27 Feb) show there were 28.8 million air passengers at Scottish airports in 2017, an increase of 7% in the last year, and almost 30% in the last five years.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“The transport statistics show that the number of air passengers increased dramatically in the last five years. In light of this, the Scottish Government’s absurd plans to give a tax break to the highly polluting aviation industry should be scrapped. In the face of the climate crisis, Ministers should not be focussing their efforts on placating the only transport industry that is already free of fuel duty.”