FALCON POWERS – The German government is moving towards imposing new taxes on domestic flights in hopes of reducing demand and increasing the fight against air pollution from emissions.
Like other countries, Germany finds itself unable to fulfill the ambitious commitments it made under the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement.
Now, the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats, who make up the ruling coalition, are putting the finishing touches on a plan to double taxes on short-haul flights.
While the details are still being negotiated, the plan was formally announced this week in Berlin by Andreas Jung, a member of the Christian Democratic Union representing Freiburg and known as the party’s financial expert. He stated, “We want to double the ticket tax on domestic flights. In the current regulations, air travel is exempt, and this exemption will continue.”
Air Travel
For example, a flight from Hamburg to Munich via Frankfurt on a single ticket would be subject to the tax.
This “exemption” greatly benefits Lufthansa (Germany’s largest airline) by limiting its tax exposure, but it primarily targets low-cost carriers like Ryanair.
This aligns with the recent Christian Social Union plan to target Ryanair, which is also why Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa’s CEO, expressed only mild opposition to the new tax.
Currently, a domestic flight is taxed €7.40 plus value-added tax, totaling €8.78. The plan is simply to double this.
Except for the AfD party, most center-right and center-left parties are expected to support the new air travel taxes.
