France to impose green tax on plane tickets

PARIS: The French government is to impose a tax of up to 18 euros ($20) on plane tickets for all flights from airports in France to fund less-polluting transportation projects, a minister said Tuesday.

The move, which will take effect from 2020, will see a tax of 1.5 euros imposed on economy-class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe, with the highest tariff applied to business-class travellers flying outside the bloc, Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne said.

The new measure is expected to bring in some 182 million euros a year which will be invested in greener transport infrastructures, notably rail, she said.

It will only be applied on outgoing flights and not those flying into the country, Borne added.

A similar tax was introduced in Sweden in April 2018, which imposed an added charge of up to 40 euros on every ticket in a bid to lessen the impact of air travel on the climate.