Sweden is to scrap its tax on airline tickets from the middle of next year, the government has confirmed; a move welcomed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
As reported by Reuters, Sweden Democrats member of parliament Linda Lingberg (joined by the Prime Minister and cabinet members) told a press conference that “this will lead to lower prices for travellers and rising demand, boosting the competitiveness of airlines”.
Swedish minister of infrastructure and housing Andreas Carlson said the decision “will enable investments in Swedish aviation and make Sweden more competitive (and ensure) good accessibility throughout” the country.
The tax (applicable to commercial passenger-carrying flights departing from a Swedish airport) applies to all aircraft with a seating capacity of 10 or more. It was originally introduced in 2018 and ranges from 76 SEK / £5.63 (European destinations) to 315 SEK / £23.32 or 504 SEK / £37.31 for destinations further afield. The tax has marginally, but consecutively, risen year-on-year since its introduction.
IATA praised the “excellent news, which recognises that the taxation of air passengers is counterproductive economically and ineffective environmentally”. Noting that Sweden’s post-pandemic air recovery “has notably lagged its neighbours, a problem made worse with the tax,” the upcoming removal “shows the Swedish government is serious about restoring access to air travel for all its citizens across the whole country,” said Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s regional vice president for Europe.
Schvartzman concluded that aviation’s goal of reaching net zero by 2050 “will not be achieved by pricing people off planes,” with the solution to “invest in sustainable aviation fuels and other technologies” – something tax revenues were not being used to support. IATA concurred, stating that “the removal of the tax… confirms that aviation taxation is not a solution for air travel’s sustainability challenge”.