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Airport Operators Association response to Budget statement

Responding to the Chancellor’s 2015 Budget statement, Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Airport Operators Association (AOA), the trade association representing UK airports, said:

“UK levels of APD are the highest in the world and continue to act as a barrier to tourism, trade and investment. UK airports welcome the Treasury’s recent reduction of the longest-haul APD bands and abolishing the tax on children altogether; however, we cannot ignore the fact that the overall rate of APD keeps increasing year after year, and is expected to net the Government a staggering £3.7bn by the end of the decade, compared to less than £1bn in 2007.

“The AOA has in the past called for the Government to set out how and when it will respond to the devolution of APD to Scotland, and potentially Wales, sooner rather than later, so that the industry can start planning for the future with a degree of certainty. We welcome the opportunity to respond to the review and discussion paper announced recently when it is published in the summer. We urge Ministers, though, to ensure that this process is concluded as swiftly as possible.

“The Scottish Government could not have been clearer that that it intends to reduce APD by 50% as soon as the power to do so has been devolved from Westminster. The Treasury cannot wait until this happens to respond, thereby putting airports in the rest of the UK at a disadvantage. We continue to call for any cut in one part of the UK to be matched by the same reduction immediately in the rest of the country.”