Environmentally differentiated landing fees

FACT SHEET NO.: Cat-No.1 / Subcat-No.1.2-2

1. Pricing

1.2 Internalisation of external costs

Environmentally differentiated landing fees

International air transport involves considerable adverse effects on the environment at both a national and an international level, which, particularly against the background of high rates of growth in the volume of air transport in recent years. While at a global level discussion focuses on the impact on climate change, at a local level the focus is on noise emissions. Particularly due to growing traffic volume, increasing efforts are being directed at problems of noise mitigation, and economic instruments are becoming even more important. One promising option is the creation of economic incentives for the use of environmentally sound technologies (with less noise and lower emissions) by airlines. To stimulate the use of silent or less noisy aircraft and to discourage the use of noisy aircrafts, many airports apply a pricing differentiation over and above the base landing and take-off charge.

Currently, there are landing charges in Sweden and Switzerland concerning NOx. Moreover, noise based differentiation of landing fees (night fees, noise categories) are implemented in the UK (eg Heathrow), the Netherlands (eg Schiphol), Germany (eg Frankfurt).

Main objectives are:
• promote environmentally responsible behaviours by encouraging airlines to use aircraft with lower noise and air quality impacts
• to stimulate airlines to take into account as one factor among many, the emission fees when choosing new engines for their new aircraft
• If all EU airports introduce emission charges, the incentive to adopt cleaner engines would be stronger
• Orientation towards the polluter-pays principle through the separate treatment of take-off and landing, (higher pricing at night ) as well as greater differentiation of noise categories [1,2,3]

Night fees simulate airlines to operate less flights at night

Environmental fees could incentify airlines to increase occupancy rate.

[1] Kalle Keldusild (2006): Aviation Working Group. NOx–differentiated landing charges in Sweden.
[2] Civil Aviation Authority Netherlands (2003): Airport charges of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Transport and Water Management Inspectorate, Division Aircraft, Technical and Airworthiness Standards Department
[3] Heathrow Airport Limited (2010): Heathrow Airport Structure of Aeronautical Charges Proposals
[4] Öko-Institut e. V (2004): Economic measures for the reduction of the environmental impact of air transport: noise-related landing charges
[5] European Commission (2002): Conference on good pratice in integration of environment into transport policy, DG Environment