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Denmark talks up flight tax to make air travel greener 

The Danish government hopes to introduce a 13 kroner tax on flight tickets to finance zero-emissions domestic flights.

Denmark talks up flight tax to make air travel greener 
Denmark has proposed a tax to help fund a switch to zero emissions domestic flights. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix

The proposed tax, which would be introduced from 2025, would generate 200-230 million kroner annually, giving a total of 1.9 billion kroner over a nine-year period.

The revenue would be put towards prime minister Mette Frederiksen’s goal of all-green domestic flights in Denmark by 2030. 

“Air travel is – you have to be honest, when looking at climate change – a sector that pollutes too much,” climate and energy minister Dan Jørgensen said at a briefing held at Copenhagen Airport.

“But it is also a sector that is needed. Aircraft open the world for us,” he said.

Denmark plans to open its first green domestic flight in 2025, with all domestic flights becoming zero-emissions by 2030.

The Nordic country is, however, lagging behind neighbours Norway, Sweden, and Germany, who have already imposed green aviation taxes at a higher level than that proposed by the government. Other European countries have taken similar steps.

The proposal defines green flights as being 100 percent fuelled by sustainable energy sources and without fossil fuels.

Green domestic flights in Denmark would have a limited impact on the country’s carbon footprint.

While international flights comprise around 2-3 percent of Denmark’s overall CO2 emissions, domestic flights only make up a few percent of Denmark’s emissions from aviation.

The 13-krone tax, which could be adjusted in 2024 and 2029 in accordance with price changes, will be spent on green conversion, tax minister Jeppe Bruus said at the briefing.

“This is not a case of this tax helping put more money in state coffers but a contribution towards converting to green energy which we need on our air transport,” he said.

READ ALSO: Scandinavian airline SAS plans to launch electric planes in 2028

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SAS

Scandinavian airline SAS loses half a billion kroner in one month

Scandinavian airline SAS lost 2.3 billion Swedish kronor, around 1.5 billion Danish kroner, in the months November 2023-February 2024, including 500 million kroner in February alone.

Scandinavian airline SAS loses half a billion kroner in one month

The figures come from accounts which the company is obliged to report each month as part of a bankruptcy protection (Chapter 11) process it is undergoing in the United States.

The accounting shows that in February, SAS operated with a loss of 822 million Swedish kronor, which corresponds to 535 million Danish kroner or 835 million Norwegian kroner.

Although the company’s February losses are larger than expected, turnover at the airline is in line with expectations according to analyst Jacob Pedersen of Danish bank Sydbank.

“Revenue in February 2024 is only modestly better than in the same month last year, despite a marked increase in turnover. This progress is naturally positive but also driven by a lift in revenues from the leap year this year, which doesn’t raise costs by the same level,” he said in a written comment.

From November to February, SAS posted a turnover of just under 11.8 billion Swedish kronor, equivalent to just over 7.7 billion Danish kroner.

For February alone, turnover was just under 2.9 billion Swedish kronor, around 1.9 billion kroner.

This means that, compared to February in 2023, SAS has raised revenues by around 400 million Swedish kronor.

Pedersen, who closely follows aviation markets, said that the February figures are evidence “significantly more work” must be done by SAS to catch competitors on revenue.

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