TRANSPORT Minister Keith Brown has demanded an urgent update on the devolution of Air Passenger Duty (APD) to Scotland and the protection of Scotland's access to London airports.
His call to the Treasury, which handles the tax, came as the head of the national tourism agency warned over the impact of the duty on visitors to the country.
The move comes in the wake of last week's announcement that Flybe had sold all its take-off and landing slots at Gatwick airport to easyJet for £20m, prompting concerns about the Inverness-Gatwick service. High levels of APD and landing charges at London airports were cited by Flybe as factors in their decision.
Mr Brown said: "Whilst we have sought and received welcome assurances from easyJet on its continuing commitment to Inverness, there can be no guarantees at this stage that overall capacity and service provision will not be diminished.
"Myself and other Scottish ministers have raised the issues of APD and access to London with Danny Alexander and his colleagues in the Treasury repeatedly, warning of the danger both presented to the Scottish economy.
"Perhaps now that Mr Alexander's own constituency in the Highlands is set to suffer the consequences, these warnings might be taken more seriously." He said the punitive levels of APD are cited repeatedly by airlines and airports as obstacles to securing new routes and maintaining the existing ones.
VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said: "Times are tough for tourism businesses and visitors are increasingly looking for best value. We need the UK Government to look at how we can make our tourism industry more competitive.
"There are major concerns that the UK and Scotland may price itself out of the market for overseas visitors."
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