Transport / ‘No suggestion’ air discount scheme will be scrapped, Scottish Government says
THE SCOTTISH Government has insisted it has no plans to scrap the Air Discount Scheme (ADS), which gives islanders 50 per cent off core air fares.
The scheme is currently due to end on 31 March 2026, with no extension yet being announced.
Northern Isles Liberal Democrat MSPs Liam McArthur and Beatrice Wishart sparked concern on Monday when they claimed it could be in doubt.
Their concerns revolved around a comment from connectivity minister Jim Fairlie in August, in which he said an extension of the ADS was “unaffordable”.
However, Fairlie was referring to the ADS being extended to cover business travellers as well.
McArthur, Orkney’s MSP, appeared on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday to question the Scottish Government’s commitment to the ADS – quoting Fairlie’s “unaffordable” line.
And Wishart said that “certainty and clarity” was needed about how the ADS would operate beyond March next year.
She said it was “not certain” what Fairlie meant by his comment that extending the scheme was “unaffordable”.
Responding to a question from Shetland News, a Transport Scotland spokesperson sought to give assurances that ADS was not going away.
“We announced the intention to review the Air Discount Scheme, to consider how it could be made fairer and more effective and that is ongoing,” they said.
“There is no suggestion whatsoever that the ADS could be scrapped by the Scottish Government.”
Wishart had said on Monday that scrapping the ADS would “put a greater burden on island travellers” who were already squeezed tight financially.
“There are limited means to travel to and from Shetland, with whopping price hikes on the Northern Isles ferry service, all while the Scottish Government has scrapped peak fares on rail travel.
“The Scottish Government need to treat all aspects of island travel as lifeline services and look again at positive impact the Air Discount Scheme makes to air travel.”
Shetland News reported last week that the scheme cost the Scottish Government almost £13.5 million in the last financial year.
The ADS, which was introduced in 2006 when Tavish Scott was transport minister, offers a 50 per cent discount on core air fares for people resident in Colonsay, Orkney, Shetland, the Western Isles, Islay, Jura, Caithness and parts of Sutherland.
Among those not eligible are people travelling for the purpose of business, and patients on NHS-funded trips. Business-related travel used to be in the scheme until it was removed in the early 2010s.
A freedom of information request from Shetland News showed that the ADS cost the Scottish Government a total of £13,476,461 in 2024/25.
This included just over £13.1 million in reimbursements to airlines, and more than £325,000 in admin costs.
During the year there was also around £27,100 reclaimed from “misuse” of the scheme.
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