Earlier this month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that she would drop her commitment to slashing Air Departure Tax (ADT), the proposed successor to Air Passenger Duty.

The SNP’s 2016 manifesto promised a 50 per cent cut in ADT and its eventual abolition, at a cost of £300 million per year.

A total of 1,258,516 passengers passed through Edinburgh Airport in April 2019, 4.3 per cent ahead of the same month last year and the busiest April on record.

Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “We’re always happy to see more passengers coming to and travelling out of Edinburgh as it demonstrates the desire people have to broaden their horizons by visiting countries all over the world.

“Tourism is a sector that is key to Scotland. From hoteliers and restaurants to tour companies and visitor attractions, it’s an industry which employs thousands of people and drives economic growth. But we are in danger of seeing that growth and prosperity fall.

“Winning routes is hard but keeping them is even harder. And when you continue to implement the highest aviation tax in the world, you make it even more difficult. Unfortunately, when we should be looking to build on the tourism sector, we are making Scotland less attractive by forcing this tax on people and discouraging airlines from operating in Scotland.”