Airport taxes explained

Have you ever wondered why you pay so much for some flight tickets and not for others? That is not surprising at all! The price of a flight ticket is made up of various parts, namely the price the airline charges, the price the government charges, and the price the airport charges for take-off and landing. We explain the last one (the so-called airport tax) to you below.

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What is airport tax?

Put simply, airport taxes (also called flight taxes) are the costs the airline pays for departure and arrival at the airport. These airline costs are passed on to the passengers and often included in the price of your ticket. Airport taxes often consist of government taxes, security checks, oil prices, noise nuisance fees, and fuel surcharges. A lot of different aspects! This being the case, it is not surprising that the prices of some flight tickets are so high.

How high is airport tax?

The airport tax rate is not determined randomly. It depends on many different factors, such as the airline, flight time, travel distance, and departure and arrival airports. If you land or depart from London Heathrow (the largest airport in London) you will likely pay more airport tax than you would landing or departing from London Luton. So unfortunately, we cannot determine exactly how high the airport tax will be. Sometimes 10% of your ticket price may consist of airport tax, while at other times it may be more than 75%! Countries with the highest airport taxes are the United States, the United Kingdom, Fiji, Australia, Germany, and Austria.

When do you pay airport tax?

In the Netherlands you pay airport tax on every flight ticket, but this is different in each country. Many countries maintain the same system as the Netherlands, meaning the airport tax is already included in the total price of your flight ticket. The system is designed like this to prevent passengers from facing unexpected costs when they travel, so it is kind of convenient after all!

How can I limit paying airport tax?

Basically, you pay airport tax on every flight ticket and in many cases, you cannot avoid it. What you can do is choose smaller and lesser-known airports. If you depart from Eindhoven Airport, you will find that the ticket price is considerably lower than it would be if you were to depart from Schiphol Airport. The same goes for arrival airports. For example, if you fly to Milan, the airport tax at Milan Bergamo Airport is much lower than at Milan Malpensa. These smaller airports are often located a bit further away from the city, so take into account any additional transport costs to the city.

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