Belgium’s new De Wever government plans a fresh increase in the federal air passenger tax, moving to a uniform levy of €10 per departing passenger from 2027 and €11 from 2029, prompting sharp criticism from airlines including Ryanair.
The measure, confirmed in the government’s April 2026 budget programme, will standardise the tax per passenger regardless of route length or destination. It will replace the current distance-based structure, under which some medium- and long-haul departures are taxed at €5 while short-haul flights already face a €10 charge.
The planned increase will in practice almost double the tax burden on longer sectors, taking the levy on these flights from 5 to 10 and then 11 euros. Belgian authorities expect the fully implemented scheme to generate up to €184 million in additional annual revenue.
Airlines argue that the cumulative effect of successive hikes – from an initial €2 level to a planned €11 by 2029 – represents a five-fold increase and will weigh on demand, network connectivity and aviation employment in Belgium. Ryanair, which has a strong presence in the country, has called on Prime Minister Bart De Wever to scrap the latest increase immediately, warning that a simple reassessment in July would not prevent a potential reduction of up to 2 million seats.
The new tax trajectory adds to the fiscal and environmental cost base for carriers operating from Belgium and may influence capacity deployment decisions and traffic flows to competing airports in neighbouring countries.