State governors urge Austria to scrap flight levy

Five Austrian state governors are calling on the federal government to abolish the flight levy, while regional airline People’s says the charge hurts its competitiveness. ORF reported that the proposal has drawn criticism from the Greens and WWF.

The governors of Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Styria and Carinthia made the request in a joint letter to Chancellor Christian Stocker and Transport Minister Peter Hanke. Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig and Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner also support scrapping the levy. Vorarlberg Governor Markus Wallner has not commented.

The governors say Austria should strengthen its competitiveness rather than accept avoidable disadvantages for businesses. They describe regional airports and international flight links as important infrastructure for tourism, the economy and employment.

Thomas Krutzer, managing director of People’s, which regularly operates flights between Vienna and Altenrhein Airport, also supports abolishing the charge. He said it costs the airline about 50,000 euros a year and called for clearer opposition to the levy from Wallner.

The levy generally applies to departures from Austrian airports. It is 12 euros per ticket, or 30 euros for flights covering less than 350 kilometres. NEOS transport spokesperson Dominik Oberhofer said talks were already under way at federal level on a possible reduction.

The Momentum Institute, the Greens and WWF oppose abolishing the levy. Momentum Institute chief economist Oliver Picek said the charge was needed to curb frequent flying and protect the climate. Green transport spokesperson Elisabeth Götze cited tax exemptions in aviation, while WWF climate spokesperson Viktoria Auer said reducing the cost of climate-harming flights would be outdated economic policy.