Germany rolls back airline ticket tax increase to strengthen aviation sector

Germany will reduce a tax on airline tickets by mid-2026 to support the aviation sector, chancellor Friedrich Merz said after a meeting of representatives from his conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their coalition government partner, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). The measure, which was agreed in the parties’ coalition deal, repeals an increase of the aviation tax introduced by the previous government in 2024.

The step reduces taxes in the sector by roughly 350 million euros, a shortfall that could be compensated from the government’s transport budget if needed, Merz said. “We want the aviation industry in Germany to grow,” the chancellor said, arguing that passenger volumes in the sector were still at pre-coronavirus levels. “We want to get back there,” Merz said.  

Ralph Beisel, head of airport association ADV, called the decision “groundbreaking.” The coalition would “break a vicious cycle of continuously rising taxes, levies and regulatory requirements” that could help to keep the aviation industry committed to Germany, Beisel argued.  “The airports hope that the relocating of aeroplanes and abandoning of routes comes to an end,” he added. Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Germany’s largest airline Lufthansa, last year said Germany’s “solo attempts” to curb aviation emissions would put the country’s industry at risk.

Christiane Rohleder, head of transport policy NGO VCD, said the support for aviation sent the wrong message, given the earlier agreement on a price increase for Germany’s national public transport ticket. The government would subsidise “the most climate-damaging form of transport while at the same time putting further burdens on climate-friendly public transport,” Rohleder said in an article on news site ntv. 

Sabine Nallinger, head of the industry-affiliated climate think tank StiftungKlimawirtschaft, criticised the move as “a fatal signal for the transport sector transition.”

An analysis published in August fund that train travel remains pricier than flying on most European routes. In early 2025, an alliance of environmental NGOs called on the government to ensure that aviation can become climate-neutral within 20 years.