the essential
With the fall of the Barnier government, the 2025 budget which provided for an increase in the tax on plane tickets is put on hold. Airlines, like Air France, which had already passed this new tax on the price of tickets will have to reimburse their customers.
As part of the finance bill for 2025, the French government tabled an amendment which planned to triple the solidarity tax on plane tickets (TSBA). It was to apply to all flights departing from France, from 1is next January.
To avoid losing tens of millions of euros by having to pay an uncollected tax to the French state, the Air France-KLM group took the lead. Since October 24, the companies Air France, KLM and Transavia had therefore passed on, in advance, this increase to their tickets sold in 2025.
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Additional cost which was planned for January 1, 2025 (per passenger)
European destinations
- Economy class: + €6.90
- Business class: + €10
Intermediate destinations
-- Economy class: + €7.50
- Business class: + €17
Distant destinations (from 5,500 km)
- Economy class: + €32.50
- Business class and First class: + €57
But here it is… With the fall of the Barnier government, the 2025 budget as planned fell through and with it, this famous increase in the tax on plane tickets. Airlines will therefore have to backpedal and reimburse the overpayment. Air France was committed to this… “In the event of modification of the scale, abandonment or rejection of the amendment, the Group's companies will carry out a regularization so that the amount collected is equal to the amount actually due under the TSBA” indicated the French company at the end of October.
How to get reimbursed?
For the moment, Air France is navigating the reimbursement method. Contacted by The Dispatchthe national company indicates that no decision has yet been taken on the subject. We therefore do not know whether all passengers concerned will receive the overpayment automatically, without any action on their part, or if they will have to request it via the “reimbursement” section of the carrier's website.
Also read:
Plane tickets: the solidarity tax multiplied by three? Why French companies risk dropping out
In the meantime, this regularization is good news for airlines. The additional billion euros which were to be levied next year on air transport are, for the moment, no longer relevant. Nothing says, however, that the measure will not be put back on the table as part of the new amending finance bill at the start of 2025. To be continued.
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