NI passengers suffering under Windsor Framework 'inequality' on airport duty free rules - industry bosses warn
Northern Ireland is losing out on £5m per year on growth due to a “clear inequality” under rules imposed on local airports by the Windsor Framework – with passengers unable to benefit from duty free sales, Belfast International Airport has said.
They argue that the province has fallen into a ‘tax gap’ which prevents local airports from offering duty free and excise duty exemptions for people travelling to Great Britain or the European Union.
The airport’s chief executive has said that rather than “realising ‘the best of both worlds,’ Northern Ireland airports, businesses and passengers have been excluded from benefiting from” duty free sales.
Ulster Unionist MP Robin Swann said the situation is unacceptable and “yet another example of how the Windsor Framework continues to create practical inequalities for our local businesses and continues to disadvantage our local economy and people”.
However, the government says that the enforcement necessary to facilitate duty free shopping in Northern Ireland would require the introduction of border controls between here and the Republic.
Under the post-Brexit trade deal, Northern Ireland remains effectively within the EU’s single market for goods. However, it is technically part of the UK customs union for certain purposes related to international trade – while also aligned with Brussels customs laws.
Airport bosses have warned the situation affects millions of passengers travelling through NI’s three airports – as they are “unable to avail of duty free purchases in sharp contrast to the rest of the UK and airports on the island of Ireland”.
Belfast International Airport (BIA) says the problems were created by the UK-EU Windsor Framework deal – and were not addressed by the DUP-Tory Safeguarding the Union agreement which restored the devolved institutions at Stormont last year.
South Antrim MP Mr Swann told the News Letter: “It is wholly unfair that those travelling through Northern Ireland’s airports are treated differently from those elsewhere in the UK and across the island of Ireland. This situation is costing our local economy millions of pounds each year, undermining competitiveness, potential investment and tourism. Put plainly – our passengers are missing out.
“This is not about seeking special treatment for Belfast International Airport in my constituency, or for Northern Ireland, it’s about ensuring fairness and consistency across the entirety of the United Kingdom. The government must urgently work with the EU to find a resolution that restores parity for our airports, passengers and producers.
“I was pleased to host a roundtable for the International Airport in Westminster this week, and I will continue to press for practical solutions that deliver genuine economic opportunity for Northern Ireland, not disadvantage.”
BIA’s chief executive Dan Owens said local airports are competing for business “with the distinct disadvantage by being in the only part of the UK and Ireland that does not currently have access to duty free sales”.
Speaking after the meeting with local MPs, Mr Owens said: “We raised this issue during Lord Murphy’s review and unfortunately it was not included in the final report despite cross party support and executive support.
“This is an issue that impacts all local airports, and one all three are united in seeking support for as it is costing the local economy, and local businesses millions of pounds a year. It is also treating the people of NI differently than citizens across the rest of the UK and island of Ireland.
“The Windsor Framework has resulted in delivering inequality, rather than opportunity for our local distilleries and producers as well as all local passengers.
“Instead of realising ‘the best of both worlds,’ Northern Ireland airports, businesses and passengers have been excluded from benefiting from UK/EU duty free sales because Northern Ireland is simultaneously a member of the UK internal market and subject to EU VAT and excise rules for goods.
“This is an issue that is not only adversely impacting consumers, but it is hampering NI’s tourism and economic growth across the region. This issue is raised with us continually by passengers feeling rightly aggrieved that they cannot make the same purchases as everyone else because of an oversight between the UK government and the EU. We are not asking for special treatment, just fairness and equality.”
A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said: “The UK Government is committed to the avoidance of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and this is secured by the Windsor Framework.
“The enforcement necessary to facilitate duty free shopping in Northern Ireland would run counter to this by creating border controls.
“Northern Ireland continues to see growth as a result of dual market access which is enabling the free movement of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and the EU, and is increasingly being recognised by both foreign and domestic investors as a unique trading advantage”.
The 2024 Safeguarding the Union deal stated that “it is incorrect to claim that the Windsor Framework places Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods. Rather, Northern Ireland has access to the EU’s single market for goods while remaining fully within the United Kingdom’s internal market and customs territory, and while retaining full unfettered access to that market. The extremely limited European Union law that applies in Northern Ireland has been scaled back to the minimum possible that continues to allow market access”.