{"id":26979,"date":"2025-03-05T08:14:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T13:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=26979"},"modified":"2025-03-25T07:29:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T11:29:39","slug":"france-hates-planes-its-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/france-hates-planes-its-official\/","title":{"rendered":"France Hates Planes &#8211; it&#8217;s official"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6><strong>Key Points &#8211; updated 5 March 2025<\/strong><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>France have massively hiked their passenger air tax rates, effective 1st March 2025, which also now extend to commercial BizAv flights &#8211; private flights are exempt.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>These new rates will mean operators must pay anywhere from \u20ac420 to \u20ac2100 per passenger, depending on where you&#8217;re flying!<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The tax applies to flights departing from both mainland France and most French overseas territories &#8211; but with some exceptions.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>France has just passed its annual budget, which includes some <strong>eye-watering adjustments to the Air Passenger Transport Tax<\/strong> (Taxe de Solidarit\u00e9 sur les Billets d&#8217;Avion, or TSBA), which now extends to commercial BizAv flights (aircraft with 19 seats or less).<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecologie.gouv.fr\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Notice_TS_EN_2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new rates<\/a> are due to take effect from 1 March 2025, and vary depending on destination. For BizAv departing from French airports, the new rates per passenger will be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u20ac420 for European destinations<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u20ac1015 for intermediate destinations (everywhere else up to 5500km)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u20ac2100 for long-distance destinations (beyond 5500km).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And yes, those rates are <strong>per passenger!<\/strong> Domestic flights within France will have to pay an extra 10% VAT on top of these rates.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The airlines are getting hit too.<\/strong> The budget includes a rise from \u20ac2.63 to \u20ac7.40 for an economy ticket heading anywhere within Europe, and more if you&#8217;re going somewhere farther away or are traveling in business class.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-27175\" src=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/France-taxes-1024x331.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/France-taxes-1024x331.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/France-taxes-300x97.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/France-taxes-768x248.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/France-taxes-1536x497.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/France-taxes.jpg 1978w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a weird way they calculate the distance flown here. The new law specifies that the <strong>distance used to determine the tax will be calculated from LFPG\/Paris Charles de Gaulle airport <\/strong>(what they call the the &#8220;national reference aerodrome of the metropolitan territory&#8221;), rather than the actual distance between departure and destination airports.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you&#8217;re flying from LFMN\/Nice to KTEB\/Teterboro, the tax calculation will actually use the distance from LFPG\/Paris to KTEB\/Teterboro instead. The idea with this weird method is that it helps give a consistent and simplified way of calculating the distance for tax purposes.<\/p>\n<h4>Do private flights have to pay this too?<\/h4>\n<p>We&#8217;re almost 100% sure they don&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecologie.gouv.fr\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Notice_TS_EN_2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new tax rules<\/a> list a few exemptions, including: <strong>&#8220;flights undertaken by a physical or legal person for the purposes of leisure aviation or on their own behalf.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That sounds very much like private flights.<\/p>\n<p>Also, the French tax authority has an <a href=\"https:\/\/taxes-aeronautiques.sigp.aviation-civile.gouv.fr\/airable-public\/#faq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">entire website<\/a> where they try to answer questions like this. The best answer comes in <a href=\"https:\/\/taxes-aeronautiques.sigp.aviation-civile.gouv.fr\/airable-public\/#actualite\/4860\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the March 1st FAQ<\/a> which clarifies three points:<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Own-account&#8221; (ie. private) flights are not subject to the tax:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;In the case of own-account flights (i.e. private flights) involving employees or managers of the operator, or employees\/managers of a company that owns 100% of the operator, these are not subject to the TS.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Non-commercial flights are not taxable:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Article L. 422-5 of the CIBS specifies at national level the definition of commercial flight established at European level. Under these conditions, an aircraft flight that does not fall within the definition of a commercial flight is not taxable&#8230; The economic activity criteria is not met if the activity is not carried out for valuable consideration.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fractional\/shared ownership flights are generally considered private and not subject to the tax:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;With regard to the criteria of carrying out transport on behalf of third parties: shared\/fractional ownership models are part of own-account transport&#8230;&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The doc also says that even if a flight is filed as &#8220;General Aviation&#8221; (G) in the flight plan, this does not automatically mean it is tax-exempt. It sounds like the authorities pretty much ignore how the flight plan is filed &#8211; they&#8217;re more interested in determining whether the flight truly meets the definition of <strong data-start=\"1450\" data-end=\"1486\">non-commercial private transport<\/strong> or <strong data-start=\"1490\" data-end=\"1514\">commercial transport<\/strong> under tax law.<\/p>\n<h4>What about flights from French overseas territories?<\/h4>\n<p>This is where it gets even more complicated! The tax applies to flights departing from both mainland France and <strong>most French overseas territories<\/strong> &#8211; but with some exceptions.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Flights departing from these places are exempt:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>TFFJ\/Saint Barthelemy and TFFG\/Saint-Martin<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>New Caledonia and French Polynesia<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>LFSB\/Basel-Mulhouse Airport (flights operated under Swiss traffic rights from here are exempt).<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>The tax applies to flights departing from:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Guadeloupe<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Reunion<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Martinique<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Mayotte<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>French Guyana<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For flights from these places, here&#8217;s how they calculate what rate of tax you should pay:<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;European or similar destination&#8221; (\u20ac420):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flights within the same French overseas territory.<\/li>\n<li>Flights to mainland France and Corsica.<\/li>\n<li>Flights to EU, EEA, Switzerland, or within 1000 km of the departure airport.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>So for example, a TFFR\/Guadeloupe to LEMD\/Madrid flight would qualify for this (because it&#8217;s going to an airport in the EU).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Intermediate destination&#8221; (\u20ac1015):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flights to any airport 1000-5500km away, not covered by the above criteria.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>For example, a TFFR\/Guadeloupe to KTEB\/Teterboro flight (approx 2000km).<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1014\" data-end=\"1051\"><strong>&#8220;Distant Destination&#8221; (\u20ac2100):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1057\" data-end=\"1158\">Flights to any airport more than 5500km away, not covered by the above criteria.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>For example, a TFFR\/Guadeloupe to KSFO\/San Francisco flight (approx 5530km).<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>How should operators pay these taxes?<\/h4>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecologie.gouv.fr\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Notice_TS_EN_2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new tax rules<\/a> say that operators have to work out how much they owe, and declare it using an online portal: <a href=\"https:\/\/taxes-aeronautiques.sigp.aviation-civile.gouv.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/taxes-aeronautiques.sigp.aviation-civile.gouv.fr\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Until 31 Dec 2025:<\/strong> Operators must submit declarations by the last day of the month following the reporting period (monthly or quarterly).<\/p>\n<p><strong>From 1 Jan 2026:<\/strong> The deadline changes to the 20th of the following month.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s also some text saying that if an operator fails to declare or underreports passengers, the DGAC may use aircraft seating capacity to estimate tax liability!<\/p>\n<p>We have had some local reports saying that some FBOs\/Handlers have been collecting these taxes from operators, and paying on their behalf. But some others have reported that they&#8217;re not doing this as it&#8217;s technically illegal. So we&#8217;re not sure we would recommend this option at the moment!<\/p>\n<h4>Why is France doing this?<\/h4>\n<p>The French government have projected these new tax rates to generate <strong>\u20ac800-\u20ac850 million in additional revenue. <\/strong>The country&#8217;s new Minister for Public Accounts has given a \ud83d\udc4d to the tax increase &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am in favour. It is a measure of fiscal and ecological justice,\u201d she told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leparisien.fr\/economie\/taxe-sur-les-billets-davion-le-gouvernement-favorable-a-une-hausse-05-01-2025-TBXYSPRQN5ALZKW2EAZNTEOIDU.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Le Parisien<\/a> on Jan 5. \u201cThe 20% of the population with the highest incomes are responsible for more than half the expenditure on air travel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So there you have it, friends. <strong>France hates planes &#8211; it&#8217;s official.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points &#8211; updated 5 March 2025 France have massively hiked their passenger air tax&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":26982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[44],"class_list":{"0":"post-26979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-briefings","8":"tag-france"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26979"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27264,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26979\/revisions\/27264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}