State governors call for Austria’s flight tax to be scrapped

Austria’s state governors have called for the flight tax to be abolished, arguing it raises ticket prices and weakens the country’s airports. ORF reported that the demand was made at a governors’ conference in Vorarlberg on the initiative of Styria.

The tax amounts to €12 per ticket in general and €30 on short-haul routes. The governors also backed the importance and further development of Austria’s airports.

Styria’s governor, Mario Kunasek of the Freedom Party of Austria, welcomed the states’ united position. He said the states could do little beyond urging the federal government to scrap the tax, but hoped the message would reach Vienna.

Kunasek said regional airports support the economy and tourism and help secure jobs. He rejected the climate argument for retaining the tax, saying it would shift rather than prevent air traffic if passengers and airlines opted to use airports in Slovenia or Slovakia instead.

He also renewed his call for a Koralmbahn railway stop directly at Graz Airport. A few days earlier, Chancellor Christian Stocker of the Austrian People’s Party said he was open to discussion and that the flight tax would be reduced.