Lower Austrian Governor of the ÖVP and of the FPÖ have submitted an urgent motion to the state parliament to abolish the flight tax. The proposal is backed by the City of Vienna, the Chambers of Commerce, and industry leaders.
Austria currently charges at least twelve euros per passenger, while neighboring Slovakia imposes no such fee. Consequently, airport expects to lose two million passengers by 2026 as sees a passenger increase of nearly 100 percent.
The Aviation Umbrella Organization reports that removing the tax would create 2,500 jobs and generate 188 million euros in added value. Furthermore, calculations suggest that the state would actually collect more total tax revenue without the flight tax in place.