Dutch govt to consult on reintroduction of airport tax

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  • Alex McWhirter
    Participant

    Readers may remember we reported extensively on the previous airport tax introduced in 2008.

    The latter proved unpopular and led to a traffic decline at Schiphol which in turn prompted the Dutch govt to scrap the aviation tax.

    https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/69168-dutch-govt-launches-consultation-on-planned-aviation-tax?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

    However in recent years there has been a significant increase in passenger traffic at Schiphol.

    So much so that we reported last March that, at peak times, some passengers were being bussed to their long-haul aircraft which had to be parked remotely because Schiphol was short of airbridges/gate space.

    Amsterdam Schiphol users face inconvenient bus transfers

    Schiphol slots are also in short supply at peak times. Hence the EC has told KLM to hand over some slots to Norwegian (for its JFK service) in the interests of competition.

    KLM itself wants more short-haul passengers to arrive by train so that flights to nearby cities can be cancelled as a means of increasing runway capacity.

    Thalys to link Amsterdam Schiphol with Paris CDG

    So there may be a change of heart with aviation tax this time round.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Groan, another easy tax from a captive audience. I hope it fails.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    Schiphol is an extremely efficient airport and the public transport to and from it is subsidised. The money to fund that and to maintain the infrastructure should come from those who use and benefit from the airport, therefore an airport tax of some kind makes sense.

    That it should be escalated to the absurd levels of GB taxes and APD is another matter.

    It will be interesting to see what happens but knowing the Dutch they will find a fair and effective solution.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    SwissExPat
    Participant

    The Irish abolished this tax a few years back. This looks to have been a successful move with a significant uptick in tourism.

    I recently visited Jordan and had to pay something like Euro 65 to enter the country. I wont be doing that again.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    The Irish abolished this tax a few years back. This looks to have been a successful move with a significant uptick in tourism.

    This has a downside too. If you have been to Dublin, for example, on a weekend, you will know exactly what the problem is.

    I fail to understand why charging any sort of tourist tax, providing it goes towards enhancing or maintaining that which tourists enjoy and use, is so divisive. A fundamental concept of taxation is to tax people in proportion to their ability to pay and the benefits they derive from the tax supported infrastructure.


    Alex McWhirter
    Participant

    Trade body Airlines for Europe have seen this thread.

    It has told me “We are aware of this plan by the Dutch government and have plans to address it.”


    canucklad
    Participant

    Indeed, any tax has the potential to restrict growth which is why the SNP had great plans to reduce and then abolish APD from Scotland’s airports.
    Sadly, like any political decision, it’s at the mercy of short term expediency .
    And in the case of the SNP, their plans were scuppered when they diddle dallied away the opportunity in in the last government. Now, since the last Holyrood elections the tail is definitely being wagged and held by their Green party voting partners.
    As always political sentiment and short term motivation wins over long term business common sense

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