The main pilots’ union, the SNPL, is calling for a national strike on Thursday, November 14, against the tripling of the solidarity tax on plane tickets.
The union calls on all airline employees to come together to “demand the withdrawal” of the increase in the solidarity tax on plane tickets (TSBA), after the vote by the deputies for an increase in taxation on air transport, which would be “catastrophic for the sector”, assures the organization.
Effective January 1
The union is calling in particular for a rally on Thursday in front of the National Assembly. “Against the government’s desire to take an additional billion per year from the airline sector, we are calling on pilots but also all employees in the airline sector to mobilize on November 14,” declared a spokesperson for the ultra-majority union at the pilots.
The deputies, who are examining the draft 2025 budget, approved on Friday the increase in taxation on air transport proposed by the government, however limiting its duration to one year and excluding Overseas and Corsica from the system . This amendment is supposed to increase air transport taxation by one billion euros with entry into force on January 1, 2025.
Increases of between 2.60 euros and 40 euros per ticket
Concretely, this system will increase the tax rates on plane tickets. For economy class flights, the increase will be from 2.60 euros per passenger to 9.50 euros for a European destination, from 7.50 euros to 15 euros for intermediate destinations, and from 7.50 euros to 40 euros for distant destinations, according to the general rapporteur of the Budget, Charles de Courson.
“While many players in the aviation sector are barely recovering from the prolonged effects of the Covid-19 crisis period, this additional imposition will ultimately lead to tens of thousands of job losses in France,” says the union, which asks the government to back down.
