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LJLA responds to potential
Air Passenger Duty cuts for Wales
PLANS set out by the Government to
transfer more powers from Westminster to Wales include a promise to consider the
merits of devolving further powers to the Welsh Assembly over Air Passenger
Duty. This follows announcements made in January 2015 over draft legislation
giving new powers to the Scottish Parliament, which also included plans to
devolve 'Air Passenger Duty' charges at Scottish Airports. This
news could have further implications for other airports across the UK, including
Liverpool and Andrew Cornish, CEO of Liverpool John Lennon Airport commented:-
"Liverpool is the closest airport for thousands of
passengers from North Wales who choose to fly from here each year. Should plans
to lower or abolish APD for airports in Wales go ahead then this is likely to
have an impact on our business. The airport welcomes the opportunity to further
contribute to the APD debate and to highlight the damage and loss of business
that this tax continues to cause. We would hope that sense will prevail and that
the Government would subsequently ensure a consistent charging regime across all
parts of the UK, so as not to put airports such as Liverpool at a disadvantage
compared to those in both Wales and Scotland, and to airports across Europe,
where aviation taxes are already significantly lower than in the UK." |
