The ticket tax for air travel will increase significantly from May. Airlines are allowed to pass them on to guests – so flight tickets could soon become more expensive.
Airlines will face a higher ticket tax from May. Specifically, the tax is set to rise from May 1, 2024, by almost a fifth, depending on the final destination of the trip. This means: If in 2023 the cost for a flight within Germany or in member states of the European Union was 12.73 euros per passenger and trip, the ticket tax will rise to 15.53 euros from May. For flights over 6,000 kilometers away, the cost per passenger will now be 70.83 euros instead of 58.06 euros.
According to dpa information, the cabinet decided on a so-called formulation aid for a bill that the coalition factions can now introduce to the Bundestag. The increase in aviation tax is part of the federal government’s package of measures to plug billions in holes in the budget following the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling.
400 million euros in additional income
Above all, the federal government is hoping for significant additional revenue from the higher tax: While the revenue from the aviation tax was still at 1.1 billion euros in 2022, the tax revenue from the aviation tax is expected to increase to around 1.5 billion euros in the current year. In the following years, the federal government expects additional tax revenue of around 580 million euros per year.
The ticket tax affects all passengers taking off from German airports. The airlines have to pay the surcharges. However, you can pass on the higher taxes to the passengers – which is why experts assume that ticket prices for air travelers are likely to rise from May.
But the tax increase could have further consequences: Lufthansa board member Harry Hohmeister announced a few days ago that flights that become uneconomical because of the tax would be examined. “If we only fly from smaller airports with half-full planes, we will have to consider whether we still offer certain flights,” he told the newspaper “Welt”.