Flight tax brings in less revenue than expected

The new Belgian flight tax brought in less than 20.5 million euros in 2022, whereas the government was counting on 30 million euros, La Libre Belgique reports on Friday.

Since 1 April last year, every passenger taking off from a Belgian airport has to pay a tax of between 2 and 10 euros, depending on the destination. The highest tax applies to shorter flights of less than 500km, encouraging travellers to choose a more environmentally friendly alternative.

Passengers travelling to Paris, Nancy or Frankfurt am Main, for example, pay an embarkation fee of 10 euros. Those travelling further afield within Europe pay 2 euros. For all other flights, the fee is 4 euros.

The government expected the tax to raise 30 million euros in 2022. For 2023, it expects to collect around 32 million euros, which is still less than the 40 million expected when the tax was introduced.

^{© BELPRESS}