CUTTING air passenger duty in Scotland would be unfair to travellers in the rest of the UK, according to a majority of MPs.
Polling group, ComRes, found that more than half of MPs - especially Conservative and Labour MPs - believed plans to slash the duty north of the Border was unfair to airline passengers elsewhere in the UK.
It comes as the Scotland Bill - which will hand Holyrood the power to set its own rate of APD - is currently making its way through the House of Commons. The Bill is expected to enter the statute book early next year.
The Scottish Government wants to half and eventually eliminate the tax completely on all flights taking off from Scotland.
The levy, ranging from £13 up to £142 per passenger, is added to airline tickets according to the cabin class and whether the flight is short- or long-haul.
The Scottish Government believes it is a barrier to attracting new routes while a study by consultants at York Aviation estimated that halving APD could add £1 billion to Scotland's economy and 3,800 jobs by 2020.
However, the ComRes poll found that 55 per cent of MPs, including 60 per cent of Conservative MPs and 61 per cent of Labour MPs, thought this would be unfair to passengers in the rest of the UK.
Nonetheless, two thirds of MPs - including three quarters of Conservatives - believe that cutting APD across the country as a whole would "allow the UK to better compete with other European countries with respect to trade, investment and tourism."
Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Airport Operators Association (AOA), which commissioned the poll, urged Chancellor George Osborne to cut APD as part of the Budget.
He said: "Both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have been clear that they will not allow regions outside Scotland to be adversely impacted in any way as a result of the Scottish Government reducing APD by 50 per cent.
"The only way that they can do this is to ensure that the UK has a consistent rate of APD across the whole of the UK, so that passengers in Exeter pay the same amount as those in Edinburgh."
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