The European Commission (EC) has given its approval for the imposition of environmental levies on long-distance flights. Ryanair has responded with graciousness to this.
On top of the cost of their travel, wealthy customers on the most polluting long-haul flights will be required to pay additional taxes that are part of a program called the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
This proposal by the European Commission has been applauded by the Chief Executive Officer of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, who stated:
“We applaud this decision to put Europe’s most polluting long-haul flights inside the ambit of Europe’s ETS environmental tax framework,” said a member of the European Parliament.
“It is crazy, unfair, and hard to understand why short-haul flights across Europe, which are taken by hard-pressed European consumers and their families, pay all of Europe’s ETS taxes even though they are responsible for less than half of Europe’s aviation CO2 emissions,” said one person. “Short-haul flights across Europe are taken by hard-pressed European consumers and their families.”
“It is high time that the wealthiest visitors to/from Europe traveling on long-haul flights paid their fair share of environmental taxes,” the author writes. “It is also high time that this exemption of long-haul flights under the ETS regime (which was designed to further subsidize and support high-fare flag carriers like Air France, Lufthansa, KLM, and others) be ended.”
“The wealthiest long-haul passengers should pay their fair share of European ETS taxes,” while “hard-pressed European consumers and their families should only pay a lower, more equitable share of ETS taxes when their short-haul flights account for less than 50 percent of European aviation CO2 emissions.” In other words, “the richest long-haul passengers should pay their fair share of European ETS taxes.”
“We now call on the EU’s Member States and the European “Green Deal” Commissioner Frans Timmermans to support this vote in the European Parliament and finally require high-fare flag carriers like KLM, Air France, and Lufthansa to pay their fair share of ETS taxes by including long-haul flights that account for more than 50 percent of European aviation CO2 emissions within the ETS.” “This vote in the European Parliament requires high-fare flag carriers like KLM, Air France, and Lufthans
The above graph, which was provided by Ryanair, illustrates the disparity in the amount of ETS paid by short-haul and long-haul flights.
It is well knowledge that long-distance flights are responsible for about 52% of the CO2 emissions produced by aviation in Europe. According to what is said in the news release issued by the Irish low-cost carrier:
“Why should the richest citizens of Russia, China, India, and the USA pay zero ETS or jet fuel taxes on their polluting long-haul flights to/from Europe?” “Why should Europe’s hard-pressed citizens, families, and holidaymakers pay 100 percent of Europe’s ETS aviation taxes when they account for less than 50 percent of Europe’s CO2 emissions?” “Why should the richest citizens of Russia, China, India, and the USA pay zero ETS or jet fuel taxes on their polluting
This does have the potential to be beneficial to Ryanair, particularly considering that certain long-haul airlines also offer short-haul routes, which means that this would result in increased levels of competition.
The fact that O’Leary is satisfied with the conclusion of a market in which he has never participated may seem strange at first, but the fact that it will effect the short-haul side of the long-haul airlines makes complete sense.
In the future, it will undoubtedly be quite fascinating to find out what kind of competitive impact this will have for Ryanair and whether or not it will make the competition more closely knit.