A joint statement signed by nine national Finance Ministers[1] requesting EU coordination on aviation pricing is full of flaws. For example, there are important differences between the taxes and charges paid by different transport modes in Europe. Unlike road transport or railways — which receive a significant amount of government subsidies — the aviation industry pays for the majority of its infrastructure costs – on top of paying for the majority of its security costs. According to IATA estimates, airlines paid almost €31 bn for the use of airport infrastructure in Europe in 2017. In addition, European aviation has been paying for its emissions in Europe since 2012 via the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The price of emission allowances has tripled since 2018. The EU ETS is, in fact already a coordinated economic instrument for aviation carbon pricing. This fact was noticeably absent from the Ministers’ statement.
Read more at: Aviation 24be
