Commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, CE Delft investigated the extent to which travellers pay for all the costs caused by their air travel. The focus is on the extent to which aviation’s external and infrastructure costs are covered by taxes and charges. This is because external costs, such as environmental costs and infrastructure costs, are not reflected in the market price (i.e.: the basic ticket price) of flying. We therefore also look at taxes and charges in this study, since external and infrastructure costs can still be indirectly charged to the traveller through this route.
This study shows that average aviation taxes and charges in the Netherlands have increased in recent years. This is mainly due to the introduction of the air passenger tax in 2021 and the increase of that tax on 1 January 2023. However, despite rising aviation taxes and charges, only 30% of total external and infrastructure costs are currently covered by these taxes/charges. While infrastructure costs are covered by the various aviation charges, it is the external costs (e.g., climate costs) that are not currently fully charged through taxes.
There are also significant differences between flights in terms of the extent to which external/infrastructure costs are covered by taxes and fees. A comparative analysis of six model flights shows that on short flights (to Paris and London) 60 to 80 percent of external and infrastructure costs are covered by taxes and fees. On long intercontinental flights, however, this percentage is much lower: for flights to Los Angeles and Toronto, it is only 9 to 12%. The explanation is that the main external costs of aviation (climate emissions) increase as flight distance increases, while the main taxes and charges (airport fees, airline taxes) do not increase with longer flight distance.
The study also provides a comparison between modes of transport in terms of the extent to which external/infrastructure costs are covered by taxes/charges. This analysis was conducted for the six model flights. It is clear from the analysis that the extent to which external/infrastructure costs are covered is significantly higher for cars than for planes.