2023-09-30 07:34:01
Europe transit tax
In Amsterdam, passengers face high additional costs
The Netherlands is the first country in the EU to plan a hefty extra tax for transit travelers at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport. The airport operators and KLM warn of negative effects. If the tax comes, other countries could follow suit.
As of: 07:34 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
By Kira Hanser
responsible editor travel/style/engine
A plane from the Dutch airline KLM takes off from Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport
Quelle: picture alliance/NurPhoto/Nicolas Economou
Anyone who books international flights is often dependent on connecting flights. The transit airports in Europe that are relevant for German passengers include London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. The latter is particularly popular for flights to the Caribbean and South America.
At this Dutch hub of all places, there is now a risk of an unexpected increase in the price of tickets for transit passengers. The Dutch Parliament has introduced a draft law that will in future impose an aviation tax on international transit passengers at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. There has been a national aviation tax for departures in the Netherlands since 2021, which currently amounts to around 28 euros per passenger. However, transit passengers were previously exempt from this.
Those who suffer are those passengers who have a stopover of less than 24 hours and then continue their journey on a connecting flight with the same or a different airline. According to Dutch Aviation News “Luchtvaartnieuws.nl” The additional revenue from the new transit tax will be used to reduce energy costs for residents of the Netherlands. A return ticket for travelers connecting via Amsterdam-Schiphol would then be approximately 50 to 52 euros more expensive as soon as the law is passed.
Criticism of KLM and Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport
The Dutch airline KLM also warns of negative effects on air traffic. As an important air traffic hub, Schiphol plays a crucial role in connecting travelers worldwide.
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This tax on transfer passengers could encourage customers to choose alternative airports, resulting in significant revenue losses for KLM, the company said in a statement. Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM, commented on LinkedIn: “The introduction of such a tax is incomprehensible and very worrying.”
The airline’s business model consists primarily of transit passengers changing from a European to an intercontinental flight at Amsterdam-Schiphol. According to KLM, six out of ten of the airline’s passengers change there.
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The airport operators at Amsterdam-Schiphol also fear a decline in passengers of up to 30 percent. The aviation portal „Airline Weekly“ According to this, around 15 million passengers switched to another flight in the first eight months of 2023 alone.
The Netherlands’ transit tax could be a model
According to KLM, the Netherlands would be the first and so far only country in the EU, but also in the world, to levy such a transit tax. However, the introduction could have a domino effect: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is currently leading a caretaker government until November elections, wants to get the EU on board.
He has suggested to Parliament that such measures should also be examined in the context of the European Union in the future. In the long term, this could pave the way for all EU states to also introduce transit taxes at their airports for international guests.
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In Germany, too, there has been an aviation tax as a federal tax since 2010, which is based on distances. Since January 1, 2023, it has been 12.73 euros per passenger on short-haul flights, 32.25 euros on medium-haul flights and 58.06 euros on long-haul flights. Transit passengers are currently exempt from this.
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