The 50% cut north of the border has been pencilled in for April 2018 by the Scottish government as it exercises greater fiscal autonomy.

Now, a poll by the Airport Operators Association (AOA) has revealed that 60% of 150 MPs surveyed in January and February support proposals to implement the cut across the whole country as a result.

The proposal also has cross-party support with 64% of Conservative and 59% of Labour MPs backing it.

Darren Caplan, chief executive of the AOA, said: “The AOA agrees with the Scottish government’s assertion that that overall rate of APD should be reduced as soon as possible, and we understand its reasoning for wanting to reduce the tax by 50%, with a view to abolishing it when economic conditions allow.

“As a membership organisation that represents airports in every part of the UK, however, we are understandably concerned about the impact that such a move will have on all of our members in all parts of the country.

“It absolutely cannot be right or fair for one part of the UK to be able to offer a substantially lower rate of APD compared to other areas of the country.

“It has now been well over six months since the government published its discussion paper on APD, and as an industry we responded to it diligently and in good faith.

“We now need the chancellor to set out his emerging thinking so that everyone – airports, airlines and customers – can start to plan for the future with a degree of certainty.

“The Scottish government could not have been clearer that it plans to start reducing APD by 50% in 2018. The time has come for the Treasury to tell us how they will respond to this move.”