The government and the Sweden Democrats will abolish the flight tax next summer. This will make Sweden one of the few countries in Western Europe that does not have a flight tax.
What does the Swedish aviation tax look like?
The Swedish flight tax varies depending on the final destination. For a one-way trip within Europe, it is 76 kronor per passenger, for a medium-distance trip outside Europe, such as to Egypt or Algeria, it is 315 kronor. And for longer trips, such as to Thailand, it is 504 kronor.
When will it be abolished?
The government has announced that the tax will be abolished on July 1, 2025.
How are emissions affected?
The proposal is expected to increase air travel because tickets will be slightly cheaper and airlines can open more routes.
The proposal is expected to result in increased carbon dioxide emissions from air travel from Swedish airports by approximately 110,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.
What does the aviation tax look like in the rest of the EU?
Seven EU countries besides Sweden have aviation taxes levied per passenger: Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal. The design and amounts vary.
Austria: 12 euros, except for short flights (less than 350 kilometers) when the tax is 30 euros.
Belgium: 10 euros when the final destination is less than 500 kilometers from Brussels, such as to London. 2 euros for trips over 500 kilometers when the final destination is within the EEA, the United Kingdom or Switzerland and 4 euros for other trips.
Germany: Between 15.53 and 70.83 euros depending on the final destination.
France: €5.05 for a person travelling within the EU/EEA or to a country less than 1,000 kilometres from France. €9.09 for other countries.
Italy: 10 euros for short flights under 100 kilometers and up to 200 euros for longer flights.
Netherlands: 29.05 euros regardless of travel.
Portugal: 2 euros regardless of trip.
In Denmark, an aviation tax will be introduced from the turn of the year. It will be phased in to reach 50 Danish kroner (DKK) for flights within Europe, 310 DKK for medium-haul flights and 410 DKK for long-haul flights by 2030.
Norway and the United Kingdom, which are not part of the EU, also have aviation taxes.
What are the requirements for the flight?
Aviation has been included in the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) for a number of years, but aviation has had a free allocation of emissions rights. This will be phased out in the coming years – by 25 percent in 2024, 50 percent in 2025 and completely by 2026.
The requirement for the blending of sustainable aviation fuels, within what is called Refuel EU Aviation, will also increase and amount to 2 percent in 2025, 6 percent in 2030, 20 percent in 2035 to reach 70 percent in 2050.
Sources: Ministry of Finance, respective country's government websites, FCCaviation.com, Reuters, Euronews, IATA.
Source: TT-DI.SE
