Belgium is imposing a new boarding tax on airlines landing on its territory, including Royal Air Maroc (RAM). Coming into force last Friday, this tax which is far from unanimous will induce an increase in the price of tickets to Morocco.
The controversy around the new “Belgian embarkation tax”. This tax was announced last fall and then only confirmed on March 24, 2022, by the Belgian government before coming into force last Friday, Air Journal reports. This “boarding tax” amounts to 10 euros for all flights whose destination is less than 500 km as the crow flies from the busiest Belgian airport in the country (Brussels-Zaventem); 2 euros for flights over 500 km to the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland; and 4 euros for destinations over 500 km and outside these European countries (long-haul, therefore), it is specified.
The implementation of the tax, based on the date of the flight and not on the date of reservation, is not to the liking of the airlines Brussels Airlines, TUI Fly Belgium, and Air Belgium, as well as the Belgian Air Transport Association (BATA). They are already expressing concerns. According to the explanations of the spokesperson for Zaventem Nathalie Pierard on April 1 on RTBF, travelers “leaving today, tomorrow and the next few days have already booked for some time. Airlines obviously cannot now collect this difference in amount, this tax, from passengers who have already booked, who have already paid”. But the reality is quite different. Customers of the low-cost Ryanair claim to have received an email demanding payment of the tax (in the amount depending on their destination). The company explains that “even if a passenger has booked their flight before March 25, we must pay this tax to the Belgian government”, can we read in the correspondence.
In an interview with Routesonline, Peter Gerber, CEO of Brussels Airlines said he “understands that many countries in Europe have higher taxes, but this is being introduced during what remains the worst crisis the aviation industry has ever seen”. and “not in a professional manner”. For its part, the IATA denounced the timing of the Belgian boarding tax. Its introduction “in such a short time is a blow to airlines which are slowly recovering from the pandemic”, she says. This new tax will bring in more than 5 million euros per year for Charleroi airport alone, estimated in February by Adrien Dolimont, Walloon Minister in charge of Airports.
