A boss of the city’s airport has called for a meeting with the First Minister over tax rates.
The Scottish Government had pledged to halve departure taxes – a levy paid by passengers flying from some Scottish airports – but has now done a U-turn, impacting on Aberdeen International Airport (AIA).
Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS Airports which runs AIA, said: “We need only look to Inverness Airport, which is currently exempt from the tax, to see how airlines can and do respond.
“British Airways withdrew capacity at Aberdeen while adding services in Inverness which benefits from the lack of departure tax.”
Now Mr Provan has written to Nicola Sturgeon to challenge the decision.
The letter, which is also signed by leaders of Edinburgh Airport, the Scottish Chamber of Commerce and others, said: “All of us share your ambitions for Scotland to become a carbon neutral economy by 2045. However, this decision will do nothing to further that goal.
“Aviation is a global industry and therefore requires international action to reduce global CO2 emissions.
“In the UK, the aviation industry has already decoupled growth in aviation from growth in emissions and is investing billions of pounds in developing new sustainable aviation fuels for cleaner and quieter aircraft.
“We are requesting a joint meeting to better understand how the Scottish Government can support an industry that has such an important role to play in strengthening Scotland’s global standing.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “There is a global climate emergency, and all governments, businesses and communities need to increase their action to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
“In light of the updated advice from the UK Committee on Climate Change – and the new net zero target adopted as a result – we have taken the difficult decision that reducing air departure tax is no longer compatible with our climate responsibilities and acted accordingly.”
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