Airline industry groups have come down hard against a new tax the Dutch government is proposing to limit aviation's greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that the tax will not positively affect the environment and could flout international agreements.

The Dutch government is planning to impose a tax on flights leaving the Netherlands of EUR11.25 (US$16) for intra-European flights and EUR45 (US$64) for intercontinental flights. The proposed tax is being touted as an environmental tax to offset carbon emissions from aviation.

But the Association of European Airlines (AEA) claims the EUR350 million (US$497 million) the tax is expected to raise annually for the Dutch treasury will not be used to address environmental issues or toward infrastructure projects that could help reduce aviation's greenhouse gas emissions.

Noting that airlines will benefit more from the ATM reform afforded by the Single European Sky program, AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said, "This new tax will contribute nothing, absolutely nothing, to that process."

"What it will do is to persuade Dutch travelers to jump in their cars and drive to airports in nearby countries, where passengers are not discriminated against in this way," Schulte-Strathaus said, adding that the tax will hit Dutch flag carrier KLM hardest.

Shorter Routes

IATA chief Giovanni Bisignani added to the debate by calling the tax "counterproductive." Bisignani pointed out that airlines saved 6 million tons of CO2 last year by flying shorter routes, and he called on the Dutch government to help airlines limit airlines, rather than imposing taxes.

The government "can start working with other EU governments to implement a Single European Sky that would save 12 million tons of CO2 each year," Bisignani said.

IATA notes that the Dutch tax contravenes Chicago Convention's Article 15, governing airport charges for contracting states. "I am surprised that the Netherlands, as an ICAO Contracting State, chooses to ignore its obligations and trample over international agreements," Bisignani said.

Acknowledging the public perception that aviation's emissions have in Europe, Bisignani said, "We are seeing a worrying trend across Europe with government cynically taxing air passengers for environmental reasons then failing to use the revenues for environmental purposes."

The U.S. Air Transport Association also opposes the tax. "Study after study shows that taxes levied on environmental grounds are not a cost-effective means for reaching the desired environmental outcomes, but merely serve as revenue-raisers for governments," said Nancy Young, ATA VP-environmental affairs.