THOUSANDS of Scots have backed a campaign calling for lower flight taxes.
Scottish MPs said they had been inundated with e-mails demanding the UK government take action to lower Air Passenger Duty.
A campaign opposing levels of the UK's APD – which are the highest in the world – went viral on Twitter and Facebook.
E-mails reveal how a family of four flying in economy class from the UK to the United States paid £260 in tax. In France the equivalent tax is £38.
Now, 15 MPs from Scot- land have added their names to a parliamentary motion which expres- ses concern about the financial impact of APD "on ordinary families and their ability to fly".
In the five weeks since the campaign launched, more than 75,000 e-mails have been sent to MPs across the UK.
The campaign group that organised the initiative, A Fair Tax on Flying, want the Treasury to undertake research to quantify the economic costs to the British economy of the UK having the highest APD anywhere in the world.
It has already won the cross-party support of senior MPs including Former Liberal Democrat leaders Sir Menzies Campbell and Charles Kennedy.
Mr Kennedy, said: "I hope that the government will listen to the thousands of people who have written to them on this issue, and undertake a comprehensive impact assessment to establish the true economic consequences of the increase of Air Passenger Duty.
"There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the UK's APD is acting as a significant brake on inward investment and inbound tourism and is putting the UK at a competitive disadvantage."
Scottish LibDem MP Malcolm Bruce has received over 100 e-mails since the campaign began in mid-June.
caroline.wilson@ eveningtimes.co.uk