Overview
Exemptions
aircraft operators that are currently exempt from APD in relation to the carriage of passengers on round-trip flights lasting less than one hour (under section 31(4A) of the FA 1994) will be liable for ADT for carrying these passengers, as there is no equivalent exemption in the Act;
the Act as introduced does not include an equivalent of section 31(4B) to (4D) of the FA 1994, which, together with The Air Passenger Duty (Designated Region of the United Kingdom) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/808), creates an exemption from APD for the carriage of passengers from airports in the Highlands and Islands region – the Scottish Government’s view is that such an exemption has to be notified to and assessed by the European Commission under state aid rules before it is implemented, in compliance with European Union law – however, an exemption for passengers on Highlands and Islands flights may still apply if the flight is on a non-chargeable aircraft (see sections 9 and 10);
the Act includes a regulation-making power under which further passenger and aircraft exemptions may be made, or existing exemptions modified (see section 15);
