Welcome for regional airport ‘tax holiday’ scheme

In a recent report the House of Commons Transport Select Committee suggested the possibility of a 12-month tax “holiday” for new routes operating from airports outside the South East.

The idea was welcomed by Peel Airports, which runs Doncaster’s Robin Hood airport, with its managing director Steve Gill repeating his call for an overhaul of Air Passenger Duty (APD).

He said a report by financial firm PricewaterhouseCoopers had recently suggested the abolition of APD would actually boost the UK economy, despite the loss of tax to the exchequer.

“If APD remains then there is clearly a strong case for introducing differential rates to help airports outside the South East attract business,” said Mr Gill.

“We will now be studying the committee’s report in detail, including their further call for improvements to rail and road access to airports.

“There is no doubt that there are some issues which could have a significant impact on regional airports and we are pleased to see that this debate is finally gathering pace.”