Dutch lawmakers request investigation into aviation tax’s effects on airlines and airports
The request was made after other European countries, including Germany, reduced their aviation taxes.
The Netherlands House of Representatives has requested the Dutch government to update its research into the effects of the aviation tax, Vliegbelasting in Dutch, considering that neighboring countries have begun debating or have already lowered aviation taxes, including Germany.
Following several debates, Michiel Hoogeveen, a Member of the House of Representatives, introduced a motion on November 27, 2025, for the government to update its research on how the country’s aviation tax affects passenger flows from/to Dutch airports.
Hoogeveen noted that the cabinet’s most recent research did not take into account the recent measures by other European countries to reduce their taxes on flights. “[…] the aviation and airport sector has already given concrete signals that passengers are diverting to foreign airports due to higher costs,” the lawmaker added.
“Considering that these developments demonstrably affect the competitive position of Dutch airports and that the existing research therefore no longer provides an up-to-date picture of leakage and competition risks,” the government should update “the research on the effects of the aviation tax based on the new situation in multiple European countries, including the observed leakage and competition effects, [and] to differentiate this by the five major airports […].”
The government’s report should be prepared and shared with the House of Representatives before the Dutch government begins deliberating the tax plan for 2027, the motion concluded.
A representative of Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) said the airport supported the House of Representatives’ motion.
“[…] passengers choose to depart from neighbouring German airports instead, and airlines allocate their […] capacity to more favourable markets elsewhere in Europe,” Tom Roek, a Route Development Analyst at GRQ, said in a post on LinkedIn. The tax hurts the airport and “weakens the economic position of the (Northern) Netherlands,” Roek added.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) and Eindhoven Airport (EIN) noted that the “distance-based flight tax, a form of pricing based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle, will be created.”
“Schiphol Group supports this fairer form of taxation, which brings the Netherlands in line with countries such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. However, due to the lower tax rates in Germany and Belgium for flights within Europe, more and more travellers are choosing to depart from those countries for their holiday flights.”
Both airports ask the Dutch government to “safeguard a level playing field and prevent travellers from diverting to other EU airports,” they added, concluding that they would favor
Currently, the plan is to increase the aviation taxes on longer flights from January 1, 2027, as part of the tax plan for 2026, increasing the burden on “flights over longer distances, which emit more CO2.”
The change would be similar to the United Kingdom’s Air Passenger Duty (APD), meaning that destinations farther from the capital, Amsterdam, would have different tax rates. As a result, the current €29.40 ($34.22) per-passenger levy would continue applying for short-haul flights, which are itineraries within the European Union (EU) and destinations up to around 2,000 kilometers (1,079 nautical miles) from Amsterdam.
Medium-haul destinations, from 2,001 km to 5,000 km (2,699 NM) from Amsterdam, would have a per-passenger tax of €47.24 ($55.03), while long-haul flights would have a levy of €70.86 ($82.54).
The distance would be determined by the final destination in case of connecting flights, while the Netherlands’ territories, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, will be exempt, since they are considered a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Dutch government estimated that the change would generate an additional €257 million ($299.2 million) in tax revenue per year. The tax plan is yet to pass.
In addition to the changes for commercial flights, the Dutch House of Representatives also targeted private jets with taxes, and if the budget passes, from 2030, private jet passengers on aircraft with fewer than 19 seats will pay €420 ($489.21), €1,015 ($1,182), and €2,100 ($2,446) per short-, medium-, and long-haul flight, respectively.
In May, CE Delft was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water to study the effects of distance-based aviation taxes. The study, available in full here, concluded that the duty would have limited effects, and depending on the scenario, “the total number of passengers flying from a Dutch airport in 2030 decreases by 0.1% to 0.7%.”
“This decline is mainly seen among people flying for holidays or to visit friends or family. Business travelers are hardly affected by the introduction of a distance-based aviation tax, because they are (much) less price-sensitive than non-business travelers.”
However, in the worst-case scenario, CE Delft concluded that more travelers could opt for the car or the train instead of short-haul flights, yet the effects would be “very limited, because the reduction in the number of passengers flying from the Netherlands is small.”
In a joint statement in September, Airlines for Europe (A4E) and Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe) warned that the tax hike “will undermine connectivity, hurt passengers, and weaken investment in aviation decarbonisation.”
“This heavier tax load is the second such rise on top of an existing fee levied on consumer air travel.”
In November, the German government confirmed that it would reverse the taxes on air travel to 2024 levels, and also reduce air traffic control (ATC) fees by over 10% by 2029. In response, the German Aviation Association (Bundesverband der Deutschen Luftverkehrswirtschaft, BDL) said that it had welcomed the move, with Joachim Lang, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BDL, adding that the government “has kept its word and put an end to the years-long spiral of rising costs for taxes and fees on air transport from Germany.”
“Overall, the measures are suitable for strengthening Germany’s economic connectivity. However, further steps will be necessary in the coming years to ensure that Germany can participate in the ongoing boom in air traffic in Europe.”
According to BDL, airlines’ taxes and charges have more than doubled since 2019, warning that without any measures, Germany risks becoming obsolete as an aviation hub.
Rytis Beresnevicius
Comments ()