Further delay to Scottish devolved airline tax plans

Plans to replace air passenger duty with a discounted Scottish alternative have been delayed until at least 2020. Scottish ministers want to set up a devolved ADT, and would immediately cut the levy by 50%. However, the plans are tied up in legal issues, and ministers now say they will not be resolved until after April 2020. A group of air industry bosses urged ministers to "get on with it sooner rather than later, or be up front with us that it's never going to happen". A joint statement from groups including Airlines UK and the owners of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports said the govt "needs to be straight with industry". They said: "This was a cast-iron manifesto commitment and they have now failed to implement it 2 years in a row, and in the meantime it is Scottish tourism and connectivity that is suffering." <br/>