Ryanair has renewed calls for Air Passenger Duty to be scrapped entirely as power to cut the tax was devolved to the Scottish parliament.
The budget carrier used the devolution switch to again call on Westminster to ‘axe the tax’ for all and allow UK airports to become competitive, while stimulating jobs and tourism growth.
The latest call follows chancellor George Osborne’s decision to abolish APD for under-12s from May and the devolution of APD power to Scotland.
The UK government should follow the example of its Irish counterpart in order to stimulate jobs and tourism growth, Ryanair urged.
Ryanair launched 21 new routes to and from Dublin, Knock and Shannon airports as a direct result of the Irish air tax being abolished in April 2014.
This will result in more than 1.7 million additional passengers travelling through Irish airports in a year, with the VAT received from the additional tourist spend far outweighing any lost tax revenues.
A spokesman for the airline said: “Ryanair democratised air travel for all consumers – it’s high time the UK government did the same and axed the travel tax for all.
“An independent study [by Pricewaterhouse Coopers] has confirmed the abolition of APD would yield 0.46% of the UK GDP in the first year and at least £16 billion within three years, while allowing the UK to become competitive once more, and would lead to the creation of 60,000 new jobs.
“Ryanair has launched 21 new routes to and from Ireland in direct response to the Irish government’s decision to abolish Irish APD, which has resulted in a 9% growth in tourism, with Ryanair delivering two-thirds of this growth.
“The VAT from the extra tourist spend alone exceeds what APD would have recouped in another prime example of how other EU countries have returned to growth by scrapping tourist taxes.
“While we welcome the move towards abolishing travel tax in Scotland and the removal of APD for under-12s from May 1 – a move we have bettered by dropping under-12s APD from March 27, ensuring families enjoy even more savings during the Easter break – we again call on the UK government to axe the tax for all to stimulate tourism and growth.”