Ryanair has criticised the Belgian government for its aviation tax policies, dismissing their green credentials and arguing they will hit the pockets of ordinary passengers and damage the economy, while cutting costs for heavily-polluting private flyers.
The proposed changes
As things stand, short-haul flights (up to 500 km) incur a “boarding tax” per passenger of €10. Meanwhile flights over 500 km within the European Union are subject to a €2 tax per passenger, and passengers on flights over 500 km outside the EU pay double that: €4 in tax. Introduced three years ago, the policy brought in over €42 million in 2024.
Under the new regime proposed by Belgium’s De Wever cabinet, short haul flyers would still pay the €10 levy. However, there would no longer be any distinction between internal or external flights over 500 km. Instead, the government has proposed blanket aviation levies or a so-called “boarding tax”, of €5 on all departing passengers flying over 500 km. That, Ryanair points out, is a 150% increase for its internal EU passengers – a hike in costs the Irish carrier is displeased with and says is out of line with Belgium’s EU neighbours.
Polluting private flyers will pay less
“Unlike other EU countries like Sweden, Hungary, and regional Italy, which are abolishing aviation taxes and cutting airport charges to maintain competitiveness and stimulate traffic growth, the new Belgian Governement is proposing to increase its aviation tax on ordinary passengers by up to 150%,” a spokesperson for Ryanair said.
The phrase “ordinary passengers” is intended to draw a distinction between those flying long-haul on the low-cost airline and those who can afford to fly privately. The latter, Ryanair notes, will see their costs slashed by 50% from €10 to €5 per passenger. The government’s ecological reasoning for the tax is thus undermined, Ryanair says, because the carbon footprint of flyers on private jets is so much higher than standard commercial airline passengers, it is in fact private flyers who should see their costs increased.
Bad for Belgium’s “connectivity, traffic, jobs and economy”?
Ryanair called on the De Wever government “to scrap its plans to penalise ordinary passengers with this illogical tax increase, and instead impose a heftier tax on connecting and private passenger flights, which are causing the most-pollution and carrying a mere fraction of the passengers.”
As well as failing to discourage private aviation, the government policy would have “a detrimental impact on Belgium’s connectivity, traffic, jobs, and economy,” the Ryanair spokesperson continued, compounding a situation where Brussels Zaventem Airport charges are already “ludicrously high”. The airport has increased its charges by more than 20% since the Covid-19 pandemic and traffic remains at 87% of its pre-Covid levels.
