Air tax woes

Austria is to follow Germany and introduce what it calls an "ecological air travel levy" similar to Germany’s new tax scheme due to be effective 1 January 2011.

Passengers boarding flights in Austria will be charged €8 for European flights and €40 for long haul flights.  The tax is expected to raise €60m in 2011 rising to €90m in successive years.

Airlines in Austria have already criticized the new tax and said they will pass it on to their passengers.  Senior people have pointed out the situation in the Netherlands, where the government was forced to rescind a green tax after passengers started avoiding the country's airports.  The new duty could be a boon for Bratislava, connected to Vienna by Danube river, roads (40 miles) and train. www.austrianairlines.co.uk          

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum