News / MSP wants rise in air fare subsidy
SHETLAND MSP Tavish Scott has called on the Scottish government to increase the discount on island air fares to 50 per cent.
His comments came after Scottish transport and islands minister Derek Mackay announced on Friday that the popular air discount scheme (ADS), which was due to expire on 31 March this year, would be extended until 2019.
The ADS reduces air fares by 40 per cent for residents and students living in the Scottish islands and some parts of the highlands when they fly to the four main Scottish airports and Bergen, in Norway.
Shetland has a 97 per cent take up rate for the scheme, the highest in the highlands and islands.
However the level of use has fallen since the government removed the subsidy for business and third sector travel in 2011, saving around £3 million a year.
The following year Holyrood reintroduced the discount for voluntary and charitable organisations, but were attacked by local authorities in the region, who said they had lost £1 million a year without ADS eligibility.
On Friday Tavish Scott, who introduced the scheme in 2006, called for the government to bring back business travel and allow apprentices to use the scheme.
He said that recently he had seen an upsurge in people complaining about the high cost of air travel to and from the islands.
“More people are getting in touch with me about the general cost of flying than for a while,” he said.
“European rules allow the discount to be extended to 50 per cent and the government should explore increasing the rate, because fares are not coming down despite the reduction in fuel prices.
“The government also needs to reverse its decision to reduce the eligibility of the scheme so business travellers and apprentices can use it.
“When the scheme was introduced in 2006 the whole point was to keep it simple and not interfere with difficult rules and make it more complex, which is what the government has done.”
In response, a spokesman for Transport Scotland said the ADS was designed to benefit “individuals” and take up levels suggested that “Members continue to benefit from the discount in large numbers”.
He added: “A 40per cent discount on a core air fare represents a significant reduction by any standard and the Scottish government’s on-going commitment to the ADS during a continued period of challenge on public funds is a clear signal of the importance we place on the services involved.”
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