Higher Dutch air travel tax fails to push passengers to foreign airports
The higher air travel tax in the Netherlands, introduced in 2023, has not caused a mass shift of Dutch travelers to foreign airports, according to new data from the Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis (KiM).
According to Nu.nl, foreign tourists continue to fly from Dutch airports at similar rates, and overall passenger numbers remain comparable to pre-pandemic levels.
The air travel tax was increased in 2023 from roughly 8 euros to 30 euros per passenger. As of early 2026, the cost has risen slightly to 30.25 euros. Despite these changes, KiM reported Tuesday that the proportion of Dutch passengers departing from foreign airports in 2025 remained about 13 percent, the same as in 2019.
Total passenger numbers departing from Dutch airports in 2025 were also similar to 2019, mirroring counts at nearby foreign airports such as Düsseldorf and Brussels.
The aviation sector had expressed concern that higher taxes would push Dutch travelers to cross-border airports. “That appears not to be the case,” KiM said. Differences in absolute numbers exist, but these are attributed to population growth, children traveling with parents, and more flights per person, not the tax increase.
Düsseldorf, Osnabrück, and Brussels saw roughly 800,000 more Dutch travelers in 2024 than five years earlier. Schiphol Airport experienced a similar rise. Other airports just across the border recorded slightly lower numbers compared with the pre-pandemic period.
Within the Netherlands, some regional shifts were noted. Passenger numbers declined at Groningen Airport Eelde and Maastricht Aachen Airport, partly because both airports cut certain destinations.
KiM noted that isolating the direct effect of the air travel tax on airport choice is difficult, as other factors—including higher airport fees, strikes, border controls, and long lines—also influence travelers’ decisions.
