Scottish and UK governments urged to deliver private jet tax
The Scottish and UK governments must work together to deliver the rollout of Scotland’s Air Departure Tax and drive down aviation, says the Scottish Greens transport spokesperson, Mark Ruskell MSP.
Air Departure Tax was created by the Scottish Parliament in 2017, but has yet to be introduced. The Scottish Government says this is due to the UK Treasury’s refusal to allow an exemption for lifeline island flights, but a recent report from Oxfam has argued that it could be applied now if the UK Government and Scottish Government worked together.
Mr Ruskell has written to the Scottish Government Minister for Connectivity and Agriculture, Jim Fairlie, and the UK Government’s Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Mike Kane, calling for a meeting to resolve the stalemate and urgently bring in the tax.
Oxfam has found that since 2019 – the same year the Scottish Government declared a climate emergency – there have been 54,746 recorded private flights in Scotland. They have argued that using Air Departure Tax on private jets could raise over £21 million a year (based on 2023 figures), which could go towards funding public transport investment, such as permanently scrapping peak rail fares.
Mr Ruskell said: “There are few things in this world as wasteful, needless and destructive as private jets. It is absurd we are allowing multi-millionaires to pollute the world around us at such an obscene rate.
“Private jets are used as a decadent and extravagant sign of wealth and status, transporting some of the wealthiest people in the world from one destination to the next. There is no justification for them, especially at a time when global temperatures are rising.
"The truth is that we cannot even begin to tackle the climate crisis without drastically reducing the number of flights that are taking off and landing every day, both here in Scotland and around the world.
“A private jet tax is long overdue, but it will take political will and our governments working together.
“For far too long we’ve had a stalemate, with Holyrood blaming Westminster for inaction while UK ministers have refused to engage. We need to get it solved as soon as possible so that we can finally deter flights, permanently end peak rail fares and raise vital funds for public transport.
“The Scotland I want us to build is one where rail is always an affordable, accessible and reliable option, not one where private jets are flying overhead as the super-rich disregard our climate and pollute our planet.”
