Edinburgh Airport welcomes APD recommendation from The Smith Commission

Following the publication of the full report from The Smith Commission this morning, Edinburgh Airport has welcomed its recommendation that Air Passenger Duty (APD) should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.  A statement from Edinburgh Airport is provided below:

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Airport, said: “We welcome the Smith Commission’s recommendation that APD is devolved to the Scottish Parliament. 

“This should not and need not wait for legislation on other tax changes.

“We strongly believe that there is a real case to see it devolved as soon as possible so that Scotland can capitalise fully on the benefits of this fantastic year where we have been in the global spotlight.

“The removal or reducing of this tax will see millions of more passengers come to Scotland as our major airlines have indicated.

“Airline planners are finalising 2015 now and we run the risk of losing that momentum as those people who wish to visit us are deterred by the highest aviation taxes in the world.”