News / Air discount hopes for businesses
SHETLAND MSP Tavish Scott is encouraging the Scottish Government to announce the extension of the air discount scheme (ADS) to business travel when parliament debates how to support the islands next week.
On Thursday first minister Nicola Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament that she would ask transport minister Humza Yousaf to consider a recent report from Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) on the ADS.
The study, written in conjunction with island councils, suggests the Scottish Government should perform a U-turn and reinstate ADS to all business travel.
On Thursday the parliament will discuss a motion entitled ‘supporting and strengthening our island communities’, and Scott said he hopes Yousaf would use the debate as an opportunity to confirm the government’s intentions.
“[Orkney MSP] Liam McArthur and I will be pressing for the full reinstatement of the ADS scheme for Shetland in next week’s islands debate at Holyrood,” he said.
“The government used to blame Europe for restricting access to ADS but they’ve changed their position.
“We want to encourage the full U-turn and hope that that Thursday’s debate will give the transport minister a perfect opportunity to announce that ADS will be open to businesses in Shetland.”
However, a spokesman for the Scottish Government said that extending the ADS would only be considered once the draft Scottish budget is published, which is expected to happen in December.
McArthur raised the HITRANS report in parliament on Thursday, with Sturgeon responding: “I am happy to ask the Minister for Transport and the Islands to look at the case that HITRANS has put forward and to correspond with the member.
“We want our islands to be as accessible as possible for business travellers as well as for others, so we will look at the case that HITRANS has put forward, and the minister will respond in due course.”
The ADS scheme was introduced in 2006 by the then transport minister Tavish Scott, offering islanders a 40 per cent discount on air fares.
The business element of the scheme was removed in 2011, and the discount level for private travel was increase to 50 per cent earlier this year.
A Scottish Government spokesman said a decision on extending the ADS won’t be happening imminently.
“At the start of this year, the Scottish Government increased the discount available from the Air Discount Scheme to 50 per cent, the maximum allowed under the terms of the scheme,” he said.
“As agreed at the last meeting of the Islands Transport Forum, the extension of the scheme to business travel will be considered following the autumn statement and the publication of the draft Scottish budget.”
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