Raising flight tax will make Dutch air travel most expensive in EU, warns KLM

Dutch airline KLM has warned that if the government goes ahead with raising the flight tax, the Netherlands will become the most expensive country for air travel in the European Union. The new flight tax was announced in the official budget for 2026 on Prinsjesdag. 

Flights from the Netherlands to become more expensive from 2027

Currently, the air passenger tax rate in the Netherlands is 29,40 euros for every flight. Based on the budget that the caretaker government announced, this will change from 2027; instead of a standard rate, there will be three different rates based on the length of a flight.

Travellers will pay the same rates as they currently do for short flights up to 2.000 kilometres, at 29,40 euros. This includes trips to cities such as Lisbon, Budapest and Copenhagen, reports AD. Flying a medium distance between 2.000 and 5.500 kilometres - think Marrakech, Cairo and Cape Verde - will now be taxed at just over 47 euros.

The biggest price hike will be for long-haul international flights to cities like Los Angeles, Cape Town and Sydney. Plane passengers travelling over 5.500 kilometres will now have to pay 70,86 euros tax per person on top of other flight costs. The only exceptions will be to the Dutch Caribbean, including Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. 

Criticism over Dutch government’s plans to increase flight tax

While raising the flight tax will net the government around 1,1 billion euros per year, organisations such as KLM and the Dutch Association of Travel Agents (ANVR) warn that it could make flying unaffordable for many people living in the Netherlands. “This flight tax makes the Netherlands the most expensive country in the European Union for air travel, no matter the distance,” said KLM CEO Marjan Rintel in a press release. 

There are also concerns that the change will cause more travellers to avoid flying from Dutch airports and choose to drive across the border, flying from Germany or Belgium, where flights are already cheaper. "That means a longer journey, which doesn't have a positive environmental impact and is therefore not a good idea," ANVR chairman Frank Radstake told AD. Rintel agrees: “This doesn’t help the climate—in fact, it actually undermines our ability to continue investing in cleaner and quieter aviation. The Netherlands is pricing itself out of the market.” 

According to KLM, a family with two children already pays 120 euros in flight tax per trip from the Netherlands, while in Belgium, the flight tax is just 10 euros per ticket. Additionally, Sweden is scrapping its flight tax completely, and Germany is reportedly considering reversing its flight tax hike.

KLM is urging the government to take another approach: instead of proceeds from the flight tax going into the national treasury, the Dutch airline recommends that it be invested in making flying more sustainable.

“We need to invest together in cleaner aviation, for example by supporting alternative fuels (SAF),” wrote KLM. “Right now, not a single cent of the tax revenue is going toward making aviation more sustainable. Families paying hundreds of euros in flight taxes should at least expect their money to actually contribute to lower emissions.”