France to levy ‘Green Tax’ on air travel from 2020

PARIS: The French government has decided to levy a ‘Green tax’ of up to €18 euros on an outgoing flight passenger in a bid to generate revenue which would be directed towards less-polluting transportation projects initiated by the government, a French minister said on July 9. The tax imposition would be in effect from 2020 and would see a €1.5 green tax on economy class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe, with the highest tariff applied to business-class travellers flying outside the bloc, said, Elisabeth Borne, Transport Minister.

The French government is expecting a revenue generation of $182 million a year from this tax and plans to utilie this fund in greener transport infrastructures, notably rail, she said, adding that it will only be applied on outgoing flights and not those flying into the country.

The French have adopted this taxing system from Sweden, who imposed an additional charge of up to €40 on every ticket to lessen the impact of air travel to the climate since April 2018.