The French government announced today that it plans to impose an “ecotax” on almost all air travel starting next year. The new tax is going to bring in around $200 million for the government which could be used for propping up modes of transportation with a lower carbon footprint such as trains.
“With the eco-contribution, air transport will play its part in financing the daily transport of all our citizens,” French transport minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on Twitter, adding that this is a response to the “ecological urgency and sense of injustice” that’s expressed by the French.
There will be some restrictions, though, with regards to the imposition of this tax. It will not apply to connecting flights or flights that land in France. It will apply to flights that originate in France. Furthermore, flights to Corsica and French overseas territories will be exempt from this tax as well.
Airlines would obviously pass on the cost to passengers. A domestic flight ticket would cost around 1.50 euro more after this tax is imposed but a business class flight heading out of the EU would cost around 18 euro more. France isn’t the only country that’s imposing a tax like this. Germany’s green tax adds anywhere from 8 to 45 euro to ticket prices while Sweden announced a similar tax last year.