Netherlands Most Expensive Country in EU for Air Travel

As many as 74% of Dutch air passengers will consider departing from Belgium or Germany more often if the price of airline tickets rises further due to the Dutch flight tax, Dutch national carrier KLM said on Thursday.

A research by Markteffect, which was commissioned by KLM recently, said that at the same time, 87% believe that the proceeds from this tax should be used specifically to make flying more sustainable.

KLM stands for cleaner, quieter aviation as well as maintaining the Netherlands’ global connectivity. KLM is therefore critical of the outgoing cabinet’s plans and calls on them not to increase the flight tax again, the airline said.

KLM CEO Marjan Rintel said that this flight tax makes the Netherlands the most expensive country in the European Union for air travel, no matter the distance and as a result, even more Dutch travellers were choosing to drive across the border to fly from airports in neighbouring countries.

“This doesn’t help the climate-in fact, it actually undermines our ability to continue investing in cleaner and quieter aviation. The Netherlands is pricing itself out of the market. This puts pressure on our airline network and strikes at the heart of the Netherlands’ global connectivity,” Rintel said.

Travellers Opting Foreign Airports

KLM said that a further increase in the flight tax, as announced on Prince’s Day (Budget Day) with a projected revenue of around $1.3 billion per year from 2027 onward, will make flying from the Netherlands unaffordable for many Dutch travellers.

A family with two children already pays $141.57 in flight tax per trip whereas the maximum flight tax per ticket is $11.8 in Belgium. While Sweden has decided to abolish its flight tax, Germany is even considering reversing its recent increase.

“Soon, a Dutch family of four will pay $235.95 in flight tax for a flight to Greece or Turkey. As a result, travellers are turning to airports across the border in Belgium or Germany, where the tax burden is lower,” the research said.

Marjan Rintel said that they see that passengers want to keep flying, but they are very price-sensitive. Since the introduction of the flight tax in 2021, the share of Dutch travellers flying from Dusseldorf and Brussels has already increased by 41% and 20%, respectively, between 2019 and 2024.

“Further increases in ticket prices, whether due to higher flight taxes or increased airport fees, will only accelerate the shift of travellers to airports abroad, such as Brussels and Dusseldorf, Marjan noted.

Currently, the proceeds from the flight tax go back into the national treasury and are not invested in making aviation more sustainable, such as by scaling up and making alternative fuels (SAF) more affordable.

This is at odds with the wishes of nearly nine out of ten Dutch people, who believe the tax revenue should be used specifically to make flying more sustainable.

Different Approach

Marjan felt that they should not keep piling on new taxes and extra costs here in the Netherlands. Instead, the authorities need to invest together in cleaner aviation, for example by supporting SAF as right now, not a single cent of the tax revenue is going toward making aviation more sustainable. “Families paying hundreds of dollars in flight taxes should at least expect their money to actually contribute to lower emissions. Just as the government supports scaling up wind and solar energy or electrification of the vehicle fleet, it should also do more to make SAF production in the Netherlands available and affordable,” she added.