The increase of the airport tax paid by the airlines to the State will be reduced to meet the “emergency” of a return of the French carriers in the race for competitiveness, announced Tuesday, march 20, the minister in charge of Transport, Elisabeth borne, in his speech launching the national meeting of the air transport.”There is an urgency to build a response” to the differences in the competitiveness of French companies compared to their main competitors, noted the minister.
“The increase in airport tax will be limited to 0.9 euro from the 1st of April and in total there are 50 million of fees in the least for the airlines on the year,” she added. “France must take its share” of the growth in air travel expected to double in 20 years, and “this requires a national strategy,” said the minister in charge of Transport. The “airport tax” (TAP) funds services security (fire), rescue, fight against the danger from the animal, safety and environmental controls.
The France’s loss of competitiveness for the past eight years
According to the air transport stakeholders, “the growth of the traffic benefits of a less French players as their competitors, 42% of passengers in France travelling on French companies, compared to 63 per cent 20 years ago”. In 8 years, France went from being the fifth to the eighth largest in the world in terms of revenue per revenue passenger kilometre (RPK), according to the same source.
The Foundation will be held on six months with work around the five themes of “performance”: the economy, territories, the environment, innovation and the social. They need to allow for the emergence of the ideas, initiatives and proposals, in view of the preparation of the national strategy of the French air transport. This is due to the loss of speed compared to low-cost competitors, in the Gulf, but also european, in particular due to the weight of the taxes and fees.
(with AFP)
