Vienna and Lower Austria call for scrapping air ticket tax

Vienna and Lower Austria are calling for the abolition of Austria’s air ticket tax, ORF reported, as Vienna Airport faces falling passenger numbers and high operating costs.

Lower Austrian Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner of the Austrian People’s Party and Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig of the Social Democratic Party backed the move on Sunday. The tax is 12 euros per ticket, rising to 30 euros for flights of up to 350 kilometres.

Ludwig said international flight connections were important for jobs, tourism and the economy. Mikl-Leitner called the tax counterproductive, arguing it threatened jobs, hurt the region’s economic competitiveness and burdened travellers. She also said it did not help the climate if passengers flew from Bratislava instead of Vienna, as the tax had been abolished in Slovakia.

Bratislava is 55 kilometres from Vienna. Low-cost airlines Wizz Air and Ryanair have shifted operations there, where costs are a third lower, the report said. Wizz Air has left Vienna Airport, while Ryanair has moved several aircraft to Slovakia.

Vienna Airport recorded a 3.2 per cent fall in passengers in the first half of the year, to 14.3 million. Airport board member Günther Ofner recently called for the tax to be scrapped, citing high costs at the airport.

Infrastructure Minister Peter Hanke has pledged 30 million euros a year in crisis support for aviation in the 2027-28 budget. Vienna Airport said the funding would not offset the passenger decline. Vienna and Lower Austria each hold a 20 per cent stake in the airport.