Four Austrian states press to scrap flight tax

Opposition to Austria’s flight tax is spreading, with Salzburg, Tyrol, Vienna and Lower Austria calling for its abolition, ORF reports. Salzburg’s ÖVP-FPÖ state government wants the states to coordinate their efforts to persuade the federal government to repeal the levy.

The debate is intensifying as fuel costs and taxes remain high. Salzburg Airport chief executive Bettina Ganghofer has also criticised the tax, arguing that countries should maintain similar competitive conditions across the European Union. If Austria becomes too expensive, she said, air traffic will shift to neighbouring countries.

Low-cost airlines have already cancelled some routes to and from Vienna, while Ryanair has threatened similar cuts in Salzburg. The latest calls for repeal follow a decline in passenger numbers at Vienna Airport. Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig and Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner say the tax is contributing to passengers choosing nearby Bratislava, where tickets are cheaper.

The levy is currently 12 euros per passenger departing on a flight, rising to 30 euros for journeys of less than 350 kilometres. The current rates took effect on September 1, 2020. The tax was introduced in 2011 by the government led by Chancellor Werner Faymann, a coalition of the Social Democrats and the People’s Party.

Peter Malanik, managing director of Aviation Industry Austria, said scrapping the tax could bring 2.5 million additional passengers a year to Austrian airports and generate 188 million euros in economic value. He also cited the potential for 2,500 jobs and 210 million euros in additional fiscal effects, including from extra tourism.

Malanik said Vienna Airport lost 4.5 percent of its passengers from January to September, while Bratislava Airport more than doubled its passenger numbers over the same period. He said seven of the EU’s 27 member states have a national flight tax, with Germany the only neighbouring country to impose one.