Berlin 16-07-2010
The German government plans to charge flyers up to 26 Euro for each passenger flight under a new plan which will tax air traffic’s impact on the environment and also -more importantly – boost government finances.
The measure is ostensibly aimed at promoting people to change-over to other, more environmental methods of transportation – such as trains or perhaps even cycling where possible.
Airlines will have to pay 13 Euro per/passenger on trips within the EU and 26 Euro for long-haul flights which depart from Germany.
The government expects this new tax to bring in annually circa 1 billion Euro if started early next year.
Both Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and Air-Berlin PLC, the major air carriers in Germany are strongly opposed to this tax on air traffic.
Critique of the plan, has been quick and hard and not only from within the airline industry.
Some criticism has come from within Merkel’s own governing coalition providing yet another disagreement among the CDU/CSU and FDP members of the Bundestag.
The opposition Green Party has said that the tax is not designed in a way that would lead to any CO2 emissions reductions – it wants only a one-off blanket tax on short-haul domestic flights where obvious and viable alternative to flying exist and can thus be promoted.
This has to sound like the most reasonable and equitable solution on this issue coming from any of the political parties.
The newly proposed law, as it stands would include taxes on passengers, but leave freight traffic – one of the major air polluters- and private jets untouched and not subject to any new tax.
Long-haul flights could be particularly disadvantaged as German airlines could see passengers using hubs elsewhere – for example the Netherlands and Austria – and this would mean exporting German jobs and weakening Germany as a place to do business.
Most airlines in Europe operate on very low profit margins as it is and are just recovering from losses generated from both the Icelandic Ash Cloud shutdowns plus the affects of the worldwide economic downturn.
