The Netherlands drops tax on air travel

On 26 March 2009 the European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) and on 27 March 2009 the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and ACI Europe welcomed the decision by the Dutch government to abandon its tax on air travel that was introduced on 1 July 2008. AviationWatch commented on the background to the decision. The tax will cease to apply from 1 July 2009.

A 5 February 2008 post by Frans Vreede on Aviation Law Prof Blog briefly discussed some of the legal aspects. Key to concerns about the legality tax was the interpretation of Article 15 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention).

As reported by DutchNews.nl on 17 July 2008, the tax had survived court challenges. The Board of Airline Representatives in the Netherlands (BARIN) gives further details.