France increased its airline ticket solidarity tax on March 1 for all domestic and international flights departing the country.
The solidarity tax is an international tax levied on the price of airline tickets.
For domestic and intra-Europe flights, the tax has increased from €2,63 (R51) to €7,40 (R144) per passenger for economy bookings and from €20,27 (R396) to €30 (R586) for business class.
The tax for mid-haul flights of less than 5 500km has increased from €7,51 (R147) to €15 (R293) for economy and premium economy passengers and from €63,07 (R1 232) to €80 (R1 562) for business- and first-class tickets.
Long-haul flights of more than 5 500km have increased from €7,51 (R147) to €40 (R781) for economy and premium economy passengers, and from €63,07 (R1 232) to €120 (R2 342) for business- and first-class passengers.
In October, IATA warned the French government the tax increase would be disastrous for the French economy, stating that countries with higher aviation taxes recovered slowest from the pandemic. Increases in French aviation taxes will further damage its recovery and the ability of aviation to drive wider economic benefits and tax revenues.