Scottish ministers urged to set new tax on private jets at ‘sky high’ level

A new tax on private jet flights in Scotland should be set “sky high” to help ensure the “biggest polluters pay” for their impact on the climate crisis, campaigners have insisted.

With the Scottish Government planning to introduce a levy on private jet flights leaving the country, Oxfam Scotland urged ministers to use the charge to “send a message” to the super-rich who are “using private jets like airborne taxis”.

The rate of the new charge is expected to be announced when Finance Secretary and Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth unveils the Scottish Budget on December 3.

Katherine May, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “Ministers should use the Scottish Budget to set Scotland’s new private jet tax sky high and send a clear message – private jet passengers shouldn’t be able to pollute on the cheap while the rest of us pick up the bill.”

Analysis by Oxfam Scotland of flight records from the Private Jet Tracking Initiative showed that 1,101 private jets arrived in or departed from Scotland in just one month between July 15 and August 15 this year.

These flights would have generated an estimated 7,830 tonnes of CO2 emissions, Oxfam said, with campaigners claiming that on average one such journey produces more carbon pollution than someone in the poorest half of the UK would be responsible for in an entire year.

Oxfam added that between January and September 2026, a total of 7,237 private jet flights arrived in or departed from Scotland, with an estimated 44,216 tonnes of CO2 emissions generated.

The charity calculated the environmental impact of these flights was such that in just 42 minutes more carbon pollution was emitted than someone in the poorest half of the UK is responsible for in a year.

Ms May added: “While firefighters and Cairngorms communities battled wildfires on the ground, private jets were pumping out white trails of pollution across the skies above them.”

She said: “The ultra-wealthy are using private jets like airborne taxis, with Scotland’s skies treated like a private motorway.

“Meanwhile, everyone on the ground is left to deal with the increasing threat of fires, floods and rising bills, which their excess emissions help to drive.”

Oxfam wants the new private jet tax to be set at least 10 times higher than the current higher rate of air passenger duty.

Ms May said: “The climate crisis is often talked about as if we’re all in the same boat but from Scotland to Sub-Saharan Africa, people are not experiencing it equally.

“The people who have done least to cause the climate emergency are losing homes, livelihoods and lives to floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires, while others can retreat to second homes, hire private firefighters or simply buy their way out of danger.

“The climate crisis is an inequality crisis and that’s why climate justice means making the biggest polluters pay.

“Whether it’s private jets or oil and gas giants, those profiting from pollution should contribute far more to tackling the damage it causes.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is introducing a private jet tax from April 2028 to ensure those who choose to use private jets pay their fair share.

“Air departure tax rates – including those for private jets – will be set out at the Scottish Budget on December 3.”