Scottish and UK ministers have been told to resolve a long-standing dispute over aviation duty “as quickly as possible” in order for the SNP-Greens Government to finally roll out a delayed devolved power.
The Scottish Government has insisted it remains committed to introducing air departure tax (ADT) as a devolved duty, despite years of hold-ups caused by a standoff with the UK Treasury over an exemption for Highlands and islands airports.
Under the current UK-wide air passenger duty (APD), airports in the Highlands and Scottish islands receive an exemption due to the need to maintain lifeline routes.
SNP ministers are considering introducing “a higher tax for more polluting aircraft” as part of efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
The 2016 Scotland Act allowed Holyrood to introduce a devolved tax on airport passengers from airports north and legislation in 2017 set out the provisions for APD in Scotland.
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Initially, the Scottish Government had pondered potentially cutting the tax in order to boost business north of the Border, but this pre-dated Scotland declaring a climate emergency and setting legally-binding net zero targets.
The Scottish Government has admitted that “the economic benefits we had sought through our policy of reducing ADT were not compatible with our new emissions targets”.
Proposals could target more polluting aircraft or could even set different rates for domestic or international aviation or for private jets.
The Scottish and UK governments’ statutory independent advisers, the Climate Change Committee, has called on SNP ministers to “implement the air departure tax (ADT) as soon as possible”.
The advisers said that once implemented, the Scottish Government should “use the tax to address price imbalances between aviation and alternative, lower-emissions forms of surface transport”, such as rai, “to encourage modal shift”.
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But the Scottish Government said it “remains committed” to rolling out ADT, “once the long-standing issue around the Highlands and Islands exemption has been resolved”.
Mike Robison, the chairman of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, has called for more urgency in rolling out the devolved tax.
He said: "Aviation makes a significant contribution to climate emissions, and both Scottish and UK Governments have powers they should use as quickly as possible to address this.
“Taxes would have both environmental benefits, by managing demand and reducing emissions, and economic benefits, by bringing in much needed additional income from the wealthiest who travel by plane the most."
The Scottish Greens have an exemption on aviation in the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Government, meaning the party co-run by Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie can differ on policy with the SNP.
The Greens have called for the rollout of ADT to be sped up and have also appealed for a £1,000 levy on all private jet users as part of the plans.
In an open letter to SNP Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan, the Greens have called for “a banded tax with a top rate of £1,000 per passenger for everyone leaving Scotland on private jets”.
The letter added: “This could initially raise £50m - £100m per year, which could be spent on climate mitigation projects and supporting more sustainable travel options for the public, though the ultimate aim would be to disincentive private jet travel in Scotland and reduce their use to a minimum.”
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A Scottish Greens spokesperson said: “More of Scotland’s climate emissions come from transport than any other sector. If we’re serious about tackling the climate crisis then it’s essential that these emissions are reduced.
“Just 1% of the world’s population are responsible for 50% of emissions from air travel, and with 10,000 private flights at Scotland’s airports each year it’s easy to see that this is an increasing problem for everyone.
“We need to take action as soon as possible to reduce the use of private jets and their climate-killing emissions. A higher tax on more polluting aircraft would go a long way to achieving this.”
SNP Public Finance Minister, Tom Arthur, has insisted that “the Scottish Government remains committed to introducing Air Departure Tax when a solution to the Highlands and Islands exemption issue has been found”.
He added: “The Scottish Government is carefully considering the implications for this of the UK subsidy control regime that was introduced by the UK Government in January 2023.
“Until Air Departure Tax is introduced, the UK Government will maintain the application of Air Passenger Duty in Scotland.
“We will review air passenger duty rates and bands ahead of the introduction of the devolved Air Departure Tax to ensure that our policy aligns with our climate change goals, including the possibility of a higher tax for more polluting aircraft, while maintaining our commitment to retain the Highlands and Islands exemption.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is wholly responsible for the implementation of the Air Departure Tax.
“The UK Government remains fully committed to the devolution of this tax and this was legislated for in the Scotland Act of 2016.
“However, the Scottish Government has deferred its implementation and the UK Government has agreed to continue applying an equivalent duty in the meantime.”
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