The airline pilots' union (SNPL) announces a strike next Thursday, it is mobilizing against the increase in taxes on plane tickets planned in the government's draft budget.
Published on 08/11/2024 09:26
Reading time: 2min
Strike in sight in the airline sector. Thursday, November 14, the National Union of Airline Pilots (SNPL) calls for a strike. Usually employees go on strike for salary increases or against job cuts. This time, they are fighting against an increase in taxes that the government intends to impose on their sector.
As part of the draft budget that he must present next Thursday, the executive, which is looking for money by all means, wants to involve the airlines. The government wants to make a big move: promote decarbonization by taxing polluting transport a little more, while bringing money into the coffers.
According to the National Federation of Aviation and its Trades, next year, the levy would reach an additional billion euros. The main French union of airline pilots (SNPL) is going on strike to demonstrate its opposition to this tax increase which would affect flights departing from France. Pilots believe that these taxes are unfair, to the extent that they will only be borne by French airlines, or based in France, and will therefore spare foreign companies, which would create a distortion of competition.
The cabin crew are also mobilizing, even if for the moment they are not talking about a strike. But for the main French union of cabin crew, that is to say the hostesses and stewards “the French state plans to sabotage the competitiveness of French companies which are struggling to recover from the Covid period”. They warn that they will not let this happen.
Airlines have obviously expressed their disapproval to the government. They have already done their calculations. Air France, for example, estimates that this increase in taxes could represent a bill of 280 million euros for it next year. The airline has also announced that from January, it will pass this increase on to ticket prices. Enough to raise consumer awareness in a certain way.
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