From July 1, the air transport tax is to reach the pre-May 2024 level again. On Thursday evening in Berlin, the Bundestag adopted an amendment to the law prepared by the CDU/CSU and SPD. In addition to the coalition parties, according to the Bundestag, the AfD also voted for the change, while the Greens and the Left were against.
The tax is charged on each ticket sold and depends on the length of the flight. For flights to countries up to 2,500 kilometers away, the fee will be EUR 13.03 instead of EUR 15.53. For a distance of 2,500 to 6,000 kilometers it will be EUR 33.01 instead of EUR 39.34, and for long-haul flights it will be EUR 59.43 instead of EUR 70.83. The amendment to the law still needs to be approved by the Bundesrat.
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The distance is always measured from Frankfurt airport to the largest airport of the destination country. The lowest rate applies to European countries, including Turkey and Russia, and some North African countries. The average rate covers further North African countries, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia, while the highest rate covers all other countries.
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Aviation tax reduction. This is how much less budget revenues will be
According to the government, the planned reduction will result in an annual reduction in tax revenues of approximately EUR 330 million. Even before the Bundestag's decision, it was unclear whether this would lead to cheaper tickets. Vice-chairman of the CDU/CSU faction, Sepp Müller, expressed skepticism about possible price cuts, pointing to rising other costs. The CDU economic council supported the complete abolition of the tax.
The Greens and the Left pointed out during committee work that air transport in Germany is already subsidized by the state with approximately EUR 12 billion per year. In their opinion, the tax reduction is even more incomprehensible because the price of a Deutschlandticket ticket in public transport is increasing at the same time. Environmental groups also criticized the decision, arguing it would make it more difficult to achieve climate goals.
The article is a translation from German “Die Welt”
