Low-cost airline to pass on full cost of France’s new ‘eco tax’ to passengers

The airline will charge passengers almost €5 extra on seats they have already purchased

Transavia passengers will have to pay a €7.40 tax for economy flights in France and Europe (Getty Images)

A low-cost airline in France will charge customers the increase in airline solidarity tax – and passengers who thought they had paid their fare in full may be billed an extra €5.

Passengers flying with Transavia, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM, will be refused travel if they do not pay the difference of the increased surcharge from €2.63 (£2.18) to €7.40 (£6.14).

The solidarity tax on airline tickets (TSBA) is paid on all flights departing from France and charged per passenger depending on distance and aircraft type.

Transavia announced on Monday that it has “chosen to collect the entire amount of this tax” for journeys departing from 3 March 2025.

The increased “eco-tax” is part of France’s 2025 budget and will apply to all flights departing France from 1 March, including reservations made before this date.

For economy flights in France and Europe, the tax will now be €7.40 per flight, per passenger – almost €5 more than the previous €2.63 charge.

Outside of Europe, that tax will rise from €7.51 (£6.23) to €15 (£12.45) per flight, per passenger.

A payment link for the TSBA supplement was included in an email to Transavia passengers “in possession of a ticket purchased before 28 October and after 7 December 2024".

For any booking made between 28 October and 6 December, the customer is eligible for a refund of the difference between the previous scale already paid and the new one in force.

In the event a customer does not pay the surcharge, Transavia “reserves the right to refuse travel”.

Customers will “not be able to check-in online and thus obtain their boarding pass” if this happens.

The new TSBA amount has been included in the price of tickets on the Transavia website for all bookings since 19 February.

Other airlines flying out of France are yet to announce whether they will be passing on the tax rise to their passengers.

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