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3w ago

Germany Declines to Cut Air Ticket Tax in Draft 2026 Budget

Cabinet approval highlights mounting budget pressures blocking the promised relief, leaving the levy poised to raise over €2 billion.

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Der Flughafen in Budapest kämpft derzeit mit einem Mangel an Treibstoff, der auf Schwierigkeiten in der Lieferkette zurückzuführen ist. Fluggesellschaften, die den ungarischen Flughafen anfliegen, sollten daher vorbereitet sein.

Overview

  • The cabinet-approved 2026 budget draft projects €2.07 billion in air transport tax revenue, up from €2.05 billion planned for 2025.
  • Officials say a lack of fiscal room has sidelined the coalition pact’s conditional pledge to reverse the May 2024 tax hike.
  • Airlines such as Ryanair have cited high location and operating costs, including the elevated ticket tax, for route cuts and slower market recovery.
  • A March transport ministry study found that steeper German cost increases are hampering the country’s air traffic competitiveness within Europe.
  • Options for funding a tax rollback would involve trimming allocations in transport or economy and energy ministry budgets, creating a mid-three-hundred-million-euro revenue shortfall.