IACA airlines have reacted with dismay to the decision by the meeting of Finance Ministers to introduce a levy on air passengers to fund development aid. Europe’s leisure carriers believe it is fundamentally unacceptable to use air travellers as a source of development funding.

Sylviane Lust, IACA Director General commented: “the imposition of a development tax on airline passengers unfairly discriminates against passengers who choose to fly. Furthermore, the ambiguous nature of the tax, which will be voluntary in many EU countries and obligatory in others, will create confusion.”

Demand for air travel in Europe is increasingly price sensitive, even more so for passengers of leisure airlines whose holidays represent the single largest purchase of the year.

IACA airlines are also shocked that the onus to administer this irrational tax has been placed on airlines without any consideration for the cost of compliance.

IACA is therefore reiterating our calls to EU Ministers of Finance to abort plans for a development tax at the next ECOFIN Meeting on 7 June.
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