Air Departure Tax
Air Departure Tax (ADT) is Scotland’s replacement for Air Passenger Duty (APD), the UK-wide tax on passengers flying from UK airports.
ADT will start on 1 April 2027. Until then, APD continues to apply in Scotland.
Highlands and Islands airport exemptions
Passengers on flights leaving Highlands and Islands airports are currently exempt from APD. This exemption is vital for these remote communities.
We have worked with the UK Government to design a replacement exemption that protects these areas. We will:
- extend the exemption to cover passengers travelling between Highlands and Islands airports and other Scottish airports
- keep the exemption for flights leaving Highlands and Islands airports to other UK airports, including for passengers travelling via connecting flights
- remove the exemption for international flights leaving Highlands and Islands airports, including for passengers travelling via connecting flights to non-UK airports
Next steps
We published a consultation on Delivering Scotland’s Air Departure Tax on 29 January 2026. The consultation sought views and evidence on the proposed new Highlands and Islands exemption, higher rates of tax for private jet flights and wider ADT policy. The consultation closed on 26 March 2026.
After careful consideration of the responses received, we will proceed with introducing ADT from 1 April 2027 with the outlined Highlands and Islands exemption.
This is subject to successful completion of all required processes under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. The Scottish Government will also lay the necessary draft secondary legislation in the Scottish Parliament in due course.
Read our full analysis and response to the consultation, published on 15 July 2026.
We will continue to engage with stakeholders prior to ADT coming into effect on 1 April 2027.
Background
The Scotland Act 2016 gave the Scottish Parliament power to create its own air travel tax. The Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Act 2017 set out how this tax would work.
We consulted the public on ADT in 2016 and 2017. We also published assessments on the economic and noise impacts of the policy.
In June 2025, we published high-level principles to guide how ADT will be developed.
The 2026 Scottish Budget announced that ADT would be introduced from 1 April 2027 alongside a Private Jet Supplement.
We held two ministerial roundtables in February and March 2026 to discuss the introduction of ADT with stakeholders in the Highlands and Islands and across the Scottish aviation sector.
We also convened an Expert Advisory Group for ADT to help inform the introduction of ADT from April 2027 and explore future policy options.
This is in addition to the two groups that previously helped shape policy development when ADT was originally hoped to be introduced:
- ADT Stakeholder Forum – set up in 2015 to inform the tax design
- ADT Highlands and Islands Working Group – set up in 2018 to explore solutions for the Highlands and Islands exemption