The Scottish Conservatives are calling for a tax on long haul flights to be scrapped once it is devolved to the Scotland in April.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) on long haul flights should be abolished to allow the country's economy to "go global" after Brexit, the Tories say.

The Scottish Conservatives were previously opposed to reducing air passenger duty.

The change in policy was described as a "U-turn" by Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie.

He accused the party of breaking their election promise to "oppose the SNP strongly".

As well as the proposals to axe APD on international long haul flights, the Scottish Conservatives also say the tax should be halved on flights going to UK and European destinations.

Under the plans, the short haul tax would be then be frozen until 2021.

In their election manifesto in May, the Conservatives opposed a cut in APD as "there is a lack of independent evidence that would support the government's assertions that APD at current levels inhibits personal and business travel".

Shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said: "APD is one of the new powers of the Scottish Parliament coming our way thanks to our proposals to strengthen devolution.

"As we prepare for Brexit, it is more important than ever to use these powers to go global, so we can create new jobs, deliver more opportunities, and build a stronger economy.

"Abolishing APD for long haul flights has the potential to do just that for Scotland."

The Scottish Government has already proposed to reduce the impact of APD by 50% through a replacement tax once the powers are devolved.

The devolved administration has pledged to abolish flight taxes totally once "resources allow" it.

Fraser says the plan has "merit" but his party's proposals offer "the best value for money" to taxpayers.

This is despite the party estimating their proposals to cost £145.4m, £5.4m more than the estimated cost of the SNP's plans to reform airline taxation.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "UK APD has been the most expensive tax of its kind in Europe and continues to act as a barrier to Scotland's ability to secure new direct international services and maintain existing ones.

‎"Our plan to cut APD by 50% by the end of the parliament, and then abolish it when public finances permit, is a fundamental component to improving Scotland's international connectivity - which is particularly important in light of the economic uncertainty caused by the outcome of the EU referendum."