Dutch Government wants to triple flight tax to 24 euros per ticket

The Dutch cabinet wants to triple the flight tax that has been levied since last year. At the moment, travellers pay almost 8 euros per ticket. That amount should increase to around 24 euros next year.

With this, the government wants to make flying ‘relatively less attractive‘. This is apparent from a letter about the so-called Recovery and Resilience Plan that Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag sent to the House of Representatives today. The revenue from the flight tax, now about 200 million euros per year, must increase to 600 million euros in 2023.

Departing passengers only

The tax only applies to departing passengers. Travellers who only transfer in the Netherlands do not have to pay the levy. Children under the age of 2 are also excluded from the measure.

The government assumes that the consequences will be ‘relatively limited in the short term‘. Some people will forgo travelling, others will choose an alternative mode of transport or divert to foreign airports. But some will just keep flying, the government assumes.