Originally Posted by
paulwuk
I assume this move is because the NI government are hoping to attract more long haul routes to Belfast.
I think it's far more basic than that - it's to boost the falling numbers at NI's airports, and also to stop losing passengers to Dublin.
Mr Brian Ambrose (George Best Belfast City Airport):As we in the city airport see it, the background is that we as a region have benefited greatly. We had a period of growth where passenger numbers to Northern Ireland doubled from four million to eight million between 1997 and 2007. In the four or five years since then, the number of passengers reduced from eight million to seven million. So, as a region, we have lost one million passengers.
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Mr McLaughlin: That is helpful. What about the direct competition with Dublin Airport and the very unequal situation that exists?
Mr Doran: There is an uneven playing field. We share the same land mass, and we are only an hour-and-a-half to an hour-and-three-quarters driving time apart, yet the taxation regime is quite uneven. The domestic rate for air passenger duty is £13; it is €3 in Dublin. As you move up the bands, the rate goes up quite enormously. In the future, the plan is for all UK rates to effectively double over a period of time. That will put us at a severe and distinct disadvantage. The rate at the moment may not be a big enough disincentive to make someone who is flying to Birmingham, let us say, want to jump in their car and drive down to Dublin to get their flight. However, if the taxation regime here increases at the proposed rate, people may do that in the very near future, because it may prove more cost-effective.