The German federal government urgently needs fresh money because a few weeks ago some debt structures (“special assets”) were banned by the highest court as unconstitutional. Once again, aviation and its customers are supposed to serve, because the aviation tax is to be increased again due to the lack of cover for the alleged environmental protection.

At the same time, Germany's government wants to significantly reduce subsidies for alternative drives and fuels such as SAF. Originally it was said that precisely these subsidies should be financed at least in part from the revenue from the aviation tax. It was later added that the controversial ticket tax would also be used to cross-finance the railway, which had been neglected for decades.

Aviation in Germany will benefit next to nothing from the increased aviation tax, because due to the fact that the state is effectively bankrupt, funding and subsidies are being cut everywhere. At the same time, the government wants to collect more aviation tax from passengers from May 1, 2024. Strictly speaking, it is not the passenger who is liable for the tax, but rather the airline they booked. It is solely up to the airline whether it “passes on” the aviation tax or simply pays it itself. For purely economic reasons, the latter only occurs with ultra-cheap tickets that are thrown onto the market for advertising reasons. Otherwise, passengers have to be prepared for it to become more expensive because the government urgently needs money.

BDL is calling for at least a postponement of the tax increase

The Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry is not at all satisfied with the planned tax increase. Germany going it alone would lead to distortions of competition and increase the trend that some airlines simply transfer their capacities to other countries where such taxes are lower or do not exist at all.

Germany is lagging far behind other EU countries when it comes to recovering from the corona pandemic. A chilling example should be Stuttgart Airport, which also had significantly fewer passengers in 2023 than in the record year 2019. With a few exceptions, Stuttgart has lost pretty much all low-cost traffic. As a result, the local top dog has sometimes drastically increased prices on those routes where there is no competition. Combined with sharp increases in everyday costs, this has a negative impact on demand and subsequently also on jobs along the entire supply chain.

The BDL demands that the German federal government should look into the matter again and postpone the increase in the aviation tax for at least a few months. At the same time, people are demanding that SAF subsidies and those for alternative drives should not be reduced, but should be increased. It's about Germany as a location that is about to lose its international connection, both physically in the form of flight connections and technologically.