Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7O-00157 by Stephen Flynn on 2 September 2026, what assessment it has made of the risk of distortion of competition between Aberdeen International Airport and Inverness Airport arising from the proposed Highlands and Islands exemption from Air Departure Tax, including any impact on competing domestic air routes.
Aberdeen Airport will benefit from the Scottish Government’s decision to extend the Air Departure Tax (ADT)Highlands and Islands exemption to the carriage of passengers on routes from all Scottish airports to airports in the Highlands and Islands. This includes routes such as those from Aberdeen Airport to Sumburgh and Kirkwall.
The ADT Highlands and Islands exemption is not expected to bring about any negative impacts on competition relative to current circumstances, as it is replacing the existing Air Passenger Duty(APD) exemption. The APD exemption has applied to the carriage of passengers departing from airports in the Highlands and Islands to any destination worldwide (including via connecting flights)since 1 April 2001.
The Scottish Government has decided not to include the carriage of passengers from airports in the Highlands and Islands to international destinations in the ADT exemption to minimise competition distortion where possible. Including the carriage of passengers from airports in the Highlands and Islands region to UK airports is considered the appropriate and necessary level of subsidy required to achieve the exemption’s core objective of protecting crucial connectivity for communities in the region.
The ADT Highlands and Islands exemption was confirmed following public consultation and consideration of the requirements of the Subsidy Control Act 2022. These processes provided interested parties with an opportunity to share views on the proposal and its potential impacts. The effectiveness and impact(s) of the ADT Highlands and Islands exemption will be monitored as part of future ADT policy considerations and subsidy control reporting requirements.