Vienna airport chief urges end to aviation tax

Vienna-Schwechat Airport recorded a 3.2 percent fall in passenger numbers to 14.3 million in the first half of the year, and its chief executive has called for the aviation tax to be scrapped. Günther Ofner told ORF’s ZiB2 programme that high costs are putting the airport at a disadvantage.

Ofner said costs in Bratislava, 55 kilometres from Schwechat, were one-third lower. He criticised the ticket tax, which is 12 euros, or 30 euros for flights of up to 350 kilometres. Several countries have abolished the charge, and only eight EU member states still collect it, he said.

The tax does not influence travel choices but shifts traffic to Bratislava, Ofner argued. He said low-cost carriers including Wizz Air were leaving Vienna, while Ryanair was moving aircraft to Bratislava, where costs are lower.

Airport charges have risen 22 percent since 2019, less than the European average of 27 percent. But state costs for air traffic control and the ticket tax have climbed 85 percent, almost twice the increase in other European countries, according to a study by the German Aerospace Center commissioned by the infrastructure ministry and cited by Ofner.

Ofner said scrapping or substantially reducing the tax could bring back passengers and jobs, and could even increase tax revenue because visitors spend money and stay overnight in Austria. He also criticised the EU’s rules for gradually increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel, saying cheaper fuel produced outside the EU is not counted. He warned that the rules could make long-haul journeys cheaper via countries outside the bloc.