After a four-week budget crisis, the traffic light parties reached an agreement on Wednesday. Households must pour more money into state coffers so that investments in climate, energy and infrastructure that have already been decided on remain possible.
In addition to the CO2 levy and a plastic tax, the federal government is also introducing a kerosene tax from next year, according to budget planning. Kerosene used in commercial aviation has been exempt from energy tax since 2006. As a rule, no kerosene tax is charged on international flights; the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO has set this as a binding standard.
The amount of the kerosene tax is unclear. Details are missing at this point. What is certain, however, is that flights within Germany are likely to become more expensive from 2024. Even if the additional expenditure is in the single-digit euro range, the airlines could now use the new tax to further increase prices.
What the kerosene tax means for travelers
However, only German domestic flights would be affected. In the long term, passengers or airlines could take detours via foreign hubs and thus avoid the domestic kerosene tax. An example would be a stopover in Brussels or Paris on the popular route between Munich and Berlin.
Experts also see this as a possible consequence of the new kerosene tax.
Hubs abroad are being strengthened
According to industry associations, the state location costs in Germany are the highest in a European comparison. The Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry (BDL) also sees another problem facing Germany: “In this situation, the federal government is making feeder traffic to German hubs more expensive by going it alone nationally to tax kerosene within Germany and is thus shifting traffic to other European and international countries.”
BDL President Jost Lammers described the traffic light plans as a “de facto funding program for the hubs on the Bosphorus and the Persian Gulf.” At the same time, the federal government is weakening the air transport connections of important German business locations with a further increase in state location costs.
The German airlines are holding back from making statements. Background? There is a lack of information. Condor would not like to comment further at the “current time” and refers to the BDL press statement. “Condor, like all German airlines, is closely monitoring developments,” emphasizes the press office.
Kerosene tax also makes parcels and air freight more expensive
As FOCUS online learned, a kerosene tax within Germany also makes parcels and letters more expensive. The background is that many transport companies have benefited from government subsidies and the lack of energy taxes. Experts also expect that parcel delivery within Germany will shift completely to the motorways – for cost reasons. However, the costs for deliveries from abroad are likely to remain unchanged. You remain exempt from kerosene tax.