The flight tax for flights longer than 500 km, which the Belgian government had planned to raise from 5€ to 10€ starting in 2027, has ultimately been set at 7€. The inner cabinet decided it.
“This change better protects Wallonia’s economic interests while also meeting the federal government’s budgetary targets”, says the office of Walloon Minister-President Adrien Dolimont.
Although it seems the compromise was reached primarily to avoid upsetting the low-cost airline Ryanair, which operates out of Charleroi and waged a public campaign against the increase.
Pressure from Ryanair
The Walloon government had pointed out the negative consequences of doubling the flight tax for Charleroi Airport, which primarily handles short- and medium-haul flights. Ryanair had also threatened to significantly scale back its operations at the airport if the flight tax were to be doubled.
For example, there were threats to remove 5 of the 19 aircraft from Charleroi starting this winter. “20 routes will be eliminated in Belgium – 15 in Charleroi and 5 at Brussels Airport – resulting in a loss of 2 million passengers annually,” said CEO O’Leary.
According to Ryanair, the cutbacks in Charleroi – the city of Charleroi also wanted to impose a municipal flight tax of 3€ per flight – would also cost about 150 jobs, although the pilots and flight attendants affected – many of whom are foreign nationals – were allowed to work at other bases.
Thunderclouds over Charleroi…
However, it won’t come to that for now, because the increase to 10€ won’t happen, and the Walloon government had already blown the whistle on the city of Charleroi.
“Following numerous discussions between Prime Minister Bart De Wever, Minister of Labor and Economy David Clarinval, and Adrien Dolimont,” it was decided “to revise the terms of the boarding tax to limit its impact on Belgian airports compared to their foreign counterparts,” said Dolimont’s office, which noted that the increase in the flight tax would ave cost the Walloon economy 1,100 jobs and 95 million euros in added value.
Charleroi Airport, which had pointed out that the increase in the airport and flight tax would have cost the Walloon economy 1,100 jobs and 95 million euros in added value, is also pleased that the governments “took the sector’s concerns into account and opted for a more balanced approach to limit the impact on employment, the competitiveness of the Belgian airport, and the accessibility of our country.”
Few environmental taxes in Belgium
Aviation economist Wouter Dewulf had previously nuanced that impact and referred to neighboring countries, where the tax is much higher – the Netherlands charges 30€, Germany 20€, and France charges a multiple of that amount as well.
Following the planned increase starting next year, the federal government had projected 168 million euros in revenue from the flight tax. That figure was expected to rise to 189 million euros per year by 2029.
However, there was justified criticism that the flight tax was being introduced purely for budgetary reasons and would therefore not be reinvested in climate initiatives or in making the sector more sustainable.
In an op-ed in the newspaper De Standaard, journalist Ruben Mooijman points out that Ryanair posted a net profit of over 2 billion euros last year. At the same time, international organizations note that Belgium levies relatively few environmental taxes.
Moreover, “airlines already receive preferential tax treatment: they do not have to pay VAT or excise taxes on fuel. That is why international trains are struggling to become competitive. While the negative effects of aviation—such as noise pollution, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions—in no way justify preferential tax treatment.”
