Bristol Airport avoided up to £2.6 million in tax in 2012 and has potentially avoided £6.7 million since using a legal tax avoidance scheme, an investigation by Corporate Watch and the Independent has revealed.

The airport cuts their UK taxable income by racking up interest on debt from its owners via the Channel Island Stock Exchange, then sends the interest out of the UK tax-free.

Bristol Airport is 50 per cent owned by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund, 49 per cent by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and one per cent by Sydney Airport.

An airport spokesman told the Independent that it “fully complies with UK regulatory, tax and legal requirements”.