Assurances sought over German air tax

Abta is seeking assurances that a German flight tax which will add €25 on tickets to the UK will be axed in two years time.

Abta is seeking assurances that a German flight tax which will add €25 on tickets to the UK will be axed in two years time.

The German government confirmed the introduction of the tax on September 1 as part of a package to reduce its budget deficit.

But Abta is concerned that the administration has not reconfirmed that it will abolish the tax in 2012 when the EU’s emission trading scheme [ETS] comes into effect.

Abta head of public affairs Luke Pollard said the association is concerned about the overall level of air taxes governments are proposing along with the introduction of ETS.

“The introduction of this tax is a seriously regressive step that will impact on UK visitor numbers to Germany and Germans coming to the UK.

“The German government has previously stated that this tax would be a temporary measure and abolished in 2012 when the EU’s emission trading scheme comes into effect and we will be writing to obtain confirmation that this is still their intention.

“In addition, Abta also believes strongly that the UK’s own aviation tax APD should also be reconsidered when we enter ETS in two years time.”

The Dutch government abandoned a similar tax in 2008, saying that the revenue raised was far less than the revenue lost due to a drop in traffic as passengers switched to competing airports in France and Germany.