© Vincent Genevay – UNSPLASH
Plane tickets will be more expensive in 2025. From January 1, the solidarity tax on plane tickets (TSBA) will increase in order to replenish the state coffers. The government hopes to recover 1 billion euros to contribute to the recovery of public accounts. Consequence for travelers: additional cost included between 2.63 euros and 120 eurosdepending on the class chosen. A measure that worries the airline sector, which fears a drop in traffic and job cuts, but also passengers.
In a context of legislative uncertainty linked to the motion of censure tabled by the left and the National Rally, Air France has decided to take the lead, reports UFC Que-Choisir. «We are passing on this increase in advance for flights carried out from January 1, 2025», explains the company. The airline's argument: if the law is passed, the tax would apply retroactively to tickets issued before its adoption, resulting in a loss for Air France estimated at several tens of millions of euros. A surprising decision when we know that this increase is not yet included in the General Tax Code. It only appears in the finance bill for 2025, currently being debated in Parliament.
I have already purchased my plane ticket, will I still pay a surcharge?
A controversial decision
Since the beginning of November, passengers traveling with Air France group airlines have been charged a TSBA revalued. This tax, also called the “Chirac tax”, goes from 2.63 euros to 9.50 euros for European flights in Economy and Premium classes, from 20.27 euros to 30 euros in business and up to 120 euros for long-haul flights in Business class. The jump is even more spectacular on long hauls: from 7.51 euros to 40 euross for Economy and Premium cabins and 63.07 euros to 120 euros for Business and La Première classes.
This decision raises questions, in particular about the fate of the amounts collected if the law is not passed or if the scales are modified. Air France ensures that customers will be refunded if the tax is waived or revisedbut this situation remains unprecedented and opaque. In a tense political context, marked by possible censorship of the Barnier governmentthe measurement remains uncertain. To date, the Senate has already modified certain aspects of the project, but the fictitious tax increase remains applied on the Air France site.
Air tax: France far from being the most severe
