Pity the poor airlines – COVID-19 has destroyed their business model, and now they are in the crosshairs of environmental policies as West Europe attempts to reach net-zero targets.

Transport and Environment (T&E) are now proposing a tax on airlines to help reduce pollution – predicting that it could raise €3.7bn a year.

According to T&E, Europe’s six biggest emitting regions could help prevent a return to airline emissions growth and raise €3.7bn a year by taxing jet fuel. An EU study leaked last year said ending airlines’ fuel tax exemption would cut aviation emissions significantly. Now T&E’s Aviation Tax Tool shows a tax agreed by Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Benelux and the EU Nordics could cover 59 per cent of pollution from flights within Europe. Such an agreement could be a first step towards an EU levy on airline polluters which, unlike almost all other forms of transport, pay no fuel tax.

Jo Dardenne, aviation manager at T&E, said: “The nonsense of airlines paying no tax on their fuel needs to stop, for the sake of the climate and governments’ coffers. European countries do not need to wait for unanimous EU approval and can agree today to tax airline polluters and prevent emissions from bouncing back.”

Airlines are currently seeking €32.9bnn in European taxpayer-funded bailouts with no binding environmental conditions attached. T&E said the taxing jet fuel would allow countries to target airlines’ pollution and incentivise the move to greener fuels while helping repair strained public finances.

Airlines’ carbon emissions grew 1.5 per cent overall within Europe last year and have risen 27.6 per cent since 2013, far outpacing any other transport modes.

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