Departure tax Great Britain: Premium tax for premium passengers

Flying is becoming more expensive: from April 1, departure taxes will rise in the United Kingdom and a month later in Germany. However, within a year, Great Britain would charge higher taxes only from business travelers.

The British use a sort of salami tactic when it comes to departure lines. Air fares will be slightly increased on April 1 this year. For example, for economy travelers flying from the UK to the US, this increases by just one pound to £88 (around €103). In business class it's a modest 1.6 percent more at 194 pounds (228 euros).

If you sit more comfortably, you may pay more

But the British government is already planning to drastically increase departure taxes for passengers in premium classes from April 1, 2025. Anything with a seat pitch of 40 inches (approx. 101m) counts as “premium”. British media etc Weekly trip The consensus report is that the current 216 pounds tariff from Great Britain (254 euros) to the United States would be 13 percent higher. The United Kingdom already imposes the highest departure taxes in the world.

Ticket taxes in Germany will also increase by nearly 20 percent from May 1, 2024. The tax is calculated according to the flight distance. Within the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union, air transport tax increases from 12.73 euros to 15.53 euros. For long-distance routes of more than 6,000 kilometers, passengers will now pay 70.83 euros instead of 58.06 euros.

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