FAKE ENVIRO TAX DAMAGES TOURISM, JOBS & ECONOMY

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Fri, 14 Feb), called on the new De Wever Govt to scrap its recently announced plans to increase Belgium’s aviation tax to €5 per departing passenger – meaning a tax increase of up to 150% for ordinary passengers. This excessive tax hike, coupled with Brussels Zaventem’s already ludicrously high charges (which have risen 20+% since Covid) would have a detrimental impact on Belgium’s connectivity, traffic, jobs, and economy. Brussels Zaventem is already lagging far behind its EU counterparts at just 87% of pre-Covid traffic levels, and the Govt’s proposed aviation tax increase will further push Brussels Zaventem out of line with the likes of Sweden, Hungary, and Italy, where they are abolishing aviation taxes to promote traffic recovery and growth.

The Govt claims that this tax is to discourage short flights for the benefit of the environment, yet the tax on connecting and private jet passengers (carrying far less passengers than commercial airlines) will not be increased but will instead be halved from €10 to €5 per passenger. This makes no sense and shows that the goal of this tax is not rooted in environmental concern but simply to line the pockets of the new Govt, who is set to benefit from the €70M+ expected to be generated by this illogical tax – almost double the 42m generated in 2024.

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

Unlike other EU countries like Sweden, Hungary, and regional Italy, which are abolishing aviation taxes and cutting airport charges to maintain competitiveness and stimulate traffic growth, the new Belgian Govt is proposing to increase its aviation tax on ordinary passengers by up to 150%. This short-sighted decision will have a detrimental impact on Belgium’s connectivity, traffic, jobs, and economy – particularly at the already very expensive Brussels Zaventem Airport, where charges have increased by over 20% since Covid and traffic has failed to recover at just 87% of its pre-Covid levels.

Ryanair calls on the new De Wever Govt to scrap its plans to penalise ordinary passengers with this illogical tax increase, and instead impose a heftier tax on connecting and private passenger flights, which are causing the most-pollution and carrying a mere fraction of the passengers.”