New flight tax makes Dutch airline tickets the most expensive in EU, KLM says

The new air passenger tax announced on Budget Day will make the Netherlands the most expensive country in the European Union across all distances, KLM CEO Marjan Rintel warned. “This will encourage even more Dutch people to drive to fly from airports across the border. That doesn’t help the climate,” she said.

According to Rintel, this also reduces opportunities to continue investing in cleaner and quieter air travel. “The Netherlands is pricing itself completely out of the market. It puts pressure on our network, and thus strikes at the heart of the Netherlands’ connection with the rest of the world,” the airline’s CEO said.

The increase in air passenger tax is expected to generate approximately €1.1 billion annually starting in 2027. According to KLM, a family with two children already pays €120 in air passenger tax per flight. In Belgium, this is a maximum of €10 per flight, and Sweden is abolishing the air passenger tax completely. In Germany, there is talk of reversing the increase.

“In the Netherlands, a family with two children will soon be spending 200 euros in air passenger tax on a flight to Greece or Turkey. This will cause travelers to switch to airports across the border in Belgium or Germany,” Rintel predicts.

According to her, the share of Dutch travelers flying from Düsseldorf and Brussels increased by 41 percent and 20 percent, respectively, between 2019 and 2024 because flying from the Netherlands is already much more expensive.

“We shouldn’t be imposing additional taxes and piling up costs here in the Netherlands. Currently, not a cent of the revenue is going toward making aviation more sustainable,” Rintel said.