Air transport bodies in France have spoken out against the new government¡¯s plan to uphold a proposed threefold increase in the country¡¯s civil aviation tax.

The National Federation of Aviation and its Professions (FNAM) and the Union of French Airports (UAF) on Monday (13 January) expressed concerns over prime minister Francois Bayrou¡¯s plans to move forward with the previous administration¡¯s proposed Airline Ticket Solidarity Tax (TSBA) increases ¡°without any consultation or impact study¡±.

The groups are calling for a review of "this recessive project" and, in a joint statement, expressed "regret" over the new government's intention to adopt the measure as part of the forthcoming 2025 budget.

¡°This new taxation very directly threatens the future of French business aviation and further weakens French airlines, which are losing one point of market share each year in terms of the number of passengers transported [which equated to] 37 per cent market share in France in 2024,¡± the statement said.

The previously proposed TSBA changes, which sparked air transport union strikes in late 2024, included increases from €2.60 per passenger to €9.50 for economy domestic and intra-Europe flights. Tax on long-haul flights was expected to increase from €7.40 to €40 per passenger in economy or premium cabins, and from €63.07 to €120 for business class travellers.

Air France, in October 2024, had also started to collect the increased rates for departures from 1 January 2025, but the move was suspended last month?following the collapse of the previous French administration.

FNAM and UAF also claim the tax increase will reduce connectivity across France, ¡°strongly impact¡± international connections and threaten the country¡¯s appeal as a business and leisure tourism destination.

FNAM president Pascal de Izaguirre said: ¡°A permanent increase in the solidarity tax on airline tickets in France, beyond penalising a French economy in great difficulty, will structurally weaken even more French air transport, whose financial needs to support its ecological transition are nevertheless massive. Such a measure thus goes against both the democratisation of air transport in France and its decarbonisation.¡±

The French government is expected to announce its 2025 budget in February.