Ulster Unionist economy spokesperson, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, has called for clarity from the Executive regarding their policy on Air Passenger Duty, in wake of the comments from the Economy Minister at Question Time, when he said “I think that APD should be scrapped.”
Mr Aiken said:
“I was slightly surprised that Economy Minister Hamilton was so definitive in his answer to my question on APD at Stormont. Up to now, the Executive has set its face against the proposal to seek the devolution and abolition of Air Passenger Duty for all flights in and out of Northern Ireland.
“There were no ifs, buts or maybes in his answer, but is his clear position of scrapping APD the official policy of the Executive? In this new era of Sinn Fein/DUP government we are told that Ministerial solo runs are things of the past, therefore I assume he was speaking with the authority of the full Executive. If so, surely we can expect a fully costed policy to be presented to the Assembly in the near future.
“This is a major policy decision of financial and economic importance for our region which has been the subject of several major reviews and reports. Previous Economy and Finance Ministers did not see the economic benefits of the reduction and elimination of APD in Northern Ireland, despite the competitive disadvantage it has burdened our airports with, compared to Dublin. Therefore, it will be interesting to hear what has caused them to re think and change policy.”