Air Belgium, Brussels Airlines and TUI fly Belgium strongly denounce the timing of the newly implemented Belgian Embarkation Tax

Yesterday, the Belgian government proceeded with the implementation of the Belgian Embarkation Tax. The Belgian airlines Air Belgium, Brussels Airlines and TUI fly Belgium are extremely disappointed about the decision as their input has not been taken into consideration. 

The Belgian government is introducing a boarding tax for all departing passenger flights as from 1 April. For destinations less than 500 kilometers away, the extra levy is €10. Passengers who fly further away will have to pay an extra €2, €4 for flights outside Europe.

The charge also applies to those who travel by private plane or helicopter. The airlines have to pay the tax, but most likely they will pass on the extra charge towards its passengers.

Among others, the airlines asked for a starting date of the embarkation tax based on the date of reservation, and not the date of the flight as taxes cannot be charged retroactively to customers who have already booked their flights before 1 April.

“In addition, this decision is legally questionable, as it does not follow the recommendations of ICAO, that as from the moment the official texts have been finalized and validated by the different instances (yesterday by the Parliament), an implementation timeline of at least 4 months is necessary to update the different booking systems and inform the passengers,” the Belgian Air Transport Association (BATA) wrote in a statement.

The decision taken yesterday represents an additional financial burden for the Belgian aviation sector of €5 million, BATA said: “while the industry is trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the most costly and high impact crisis in its history. Besides, the tax has no positive effect on the environment, one of the key goals of the government next to the tax shift, as the money is not invested in environmental progress.”

“Different to what Vice Prime Minister Van Peteghem expressed during yesterday’s parliamentary debate, since the end of 2021, regular exchanges have taken place between the passenger airlines of the Belgian Air Transport Association (BATA) and the authorities. The airlines explicitly expressed their serious concerns on the implementation modalities of the tax,” BATA concluded.