According to Ryanair, Belgium is pricing itself out of the market now that the De Wever government has decided that the flight tax will be €10 for all flights from 2027, while other countries are reducing or completely scrapping their taxes.
However, the Irish low-cost airline’s comment should be taken with a grain of salt. Since the introduction of the air travel tax in Belgium, there has been no clear decline in the total number of passengers; on the contrary, the trend across Europe is one of recovery and growth.
Scrap the flight tax
“While countries such as Germany, Sweden, Hungary, and Slovakia are reducing or eliminating their aviation taxes, Belgium is doing the opposite, making it one of the least competitive markets in Europe,” said Ryanair Commercial Director Jason McGuinness. “The repeated increases will only lead to fewer flights, damage tourism, and destroy jobs. Belgium will ultimately earn less revenue than if it pursued a growth policy.”
Ryanair is therefore calling on the federal government to scrap the flight tax and take policy measures that support aviation, “instead of punishing its own citizens again.” In August, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary had already referred to the “simply increased” flight tax as the main reason why the company would not grow in Belgium during the winter season.
Passengers on the rise
However, the figures contradict Ryanair’s comments, especially in the context of the airline’s highly controversial baggage policy. You now must pay for a second, larger piece of hand luggage, a fee for a basic service that was previously free.
Since the introduction of the Belgian flight tax in April 2022, the total number of passengers at Brussels Airport has not fallen. On the contrary, it rose from 18.9 million in 2022 to 22.2 million in 2023 and 23.6 million in 2024. We see the same trend at Brussels South Charleroi, Ryanair’s main Belgian base. Charleroi grew from 8.27 million passengers in 2022 to 9.4 million in 2023 and 10.5 million in 2024.
In other words, the flight tax does not seem to be deterring Belgians from flying and is therefore not the main factor driving passenger numbers during this period.
Aviation enjoys many tax advantages
At the same time, Ryanair and other airlines say that higher taxes are affecting their expansion plans in Belgium, so that is another economic issue altogether, or a means of exerting pressure.
In fact, the sector is being spared quite well by the new government measures in terms of additional taxes, as it also enjoys many tax benefits in Belgium that you might question. For example, there are no excise duties on kerosene, no VAT on international tickets, and CO2 costs (ETS) remain limited for long-haul flights.
Smaller/regional airports may be affected
It is also generally argued that small flight taxes have little effect locally or in the short term, whereas medium to large-scale taxes can substantially reduce demand and flight supply.
However, both in Sweden, which abolished its flight tax in July, and in Germany, which plans to do so next year, passenger volumes have continued to grow strongly in recent years. In Germany, the record level before COVID-19 was even exceeded.
And in Sweden, in June, a month before the tax was abolished, approximately 3.2 million passengers were counted at Swedavia’s ten airports, up 1% from June 2024. In July, Swedavia again reports slight growth.
This shows once again that an air passenger tax does not necessarily lead to a permanent decline in aviation at the national level, especially at larger airports and on popular routes.
The impact would mainly be felt at smaller/regional airports in border areas and on price-sensitive routes. Relatively speaking, these airports welcome the most price-conscious travelers, some of whom are switching to foreign airports due to the price increase.
