ONCE again you report that if Air Passenger Duty is removed by Scotland, it will damage Newcastle airport. I fail to see why (Echo, Mar 13).

As from April 1, the tax per passenger for economy passengers is £13-per-head for journeys of less than 2,000 miles, while for journeys in excess of 2,000 miles, it will be £71. Economy class covers approximately 80 per cent of passengers.

The cost of travelling by road or rail to the Scottish airports would, in most cases, exceed the amount of tax to be saved. The time taken would be at least three hours longer than using Newcastle for most passengers. These inconveniences would, I think, put most North-East people off flying from Scottish airports.

In my travels, the only people I've met who have used the Scottish airports did so because Newcastle did not meet their needs in terms of timing or destination.

The question to ask is what all the fuss is about?

W Local, Peterlee.