France will introduce a tax on airlines flying from its airports to help support the environment, the transport minister said on Tuesday, in a move expected to raise around E180m from 2020. Shares in airlines across Europe fell on the news, with Air France down 5.2%, Ryanair down 4.8%, easyJet down 4% and Lufthansa down nearly 3% at 1255 GMT. However, activists said the new tax was unlikely to change consumer behavior at the proposed levels and was low compared with other countries. Brussels-based NGO Transport and Environment (T&E) estimates airline taxes raise about E1b per year in Germany and more than E3b in Britain. The new French tax will be 1.5 euros for flights within France or the European Union, 3 euros for economy flights out of the EU, 9 euros for intra-EU business class and up to 18 euros for business class tickets out of the EU. Transit flights will not be taxed. “We have decided to put in place an eco-tax on all flights from France,” Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne told a news conference, adding proceeds would be use to finance daily transport in France, notably local trains. The French government also said that from 2020 it expected to raise E140m from reducing tax benefits on diesel for trucks. “The government is finally targeting tax breaks for the most polluting industries such as trucking and airlines, but these modest measures will not significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Climate Action Network’s Lorelei Limousin.<br/>
general
Zimbabwe owes airlines about $196m that’s stuck in the country due to a shortage of hard currency, according to the IATA. The last payment received by the industry body was in January, regional vice president for IATA in Africa, Muhammad Ali Albakri, said Tuesday. The group held a meeting with Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa and will now finalise the payment plan, he added. The country is struggling with shortages of foreign exchange including the US dollar, which is needed to transfer the proceeds of local ticket sales to airlines.<br/>
Sri Lanka's government says it will decrease ground handling charges for airlines and slash aviation fuel and embarkation taxes to help the country's vital tourism industry recover after the Easter attacks that killed more than 250 people. Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said Tuesday that the government's decision would lead to an increase in the number of flights to Sri Lanka and a reduction in plane ticket prices. He said this would attract more tourists to the Indian Ocean island nation, which is famed for its pristine beaches. Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka sharply declined in June, dealing a severe blow to the tourism industry — the country's third-largest foreign currency earner last year, after remittances and textile and garment exports.<br/>
Two planes have collided at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, causing hours of delay for hundreds of passengers. An easyJet Airbus A320 bound for London and a KLM Boeing 737-800 heading to Madrid were both reversing away from their gates when they collided on Tuesday morning. Photographs taken by travellers on both planes showed that the easyJet aircraft’s wing appeared to become lodged on the stabilisers at the tail end of the other plane. A passenger onboard the easyJet flight said he had experienced “a bit of a jolt” after the collision but thought it was “nothing unusual”. Travellers on the plane had to wait for more than an hour on the tarmac while ground staff worked out how to deal with the incident, he said. They then faced a further delay of about four hours, but he added: “I’m just happy everyone is OK.” Passengers on the KLM service to Madrid were more swiftly put on a replacement plane. Both aircraft involved in the collision have been withdrawn from service for inspection. “EasyJet can confirm that two aircraft made contact during pushback from stand, one of which was easyJet flight EJU8868 from Amsterdam to London Gatwick,” the company said. “Passengers have now disembarked into the terminal where they have been provided with updates and refreshment vouchers. The flight is now due to be operated by a replacement aircraft. KLM, the Dutch national carrier, tweeted: “This morning a KLM Boeing 737-800 hit another aircraft during the pushback at the gate. The passengers were not in danger and were taken off board. After a delay of 2.5 hours the passengers left with another aircraft. It is being investigated how the situation could have arisen.”<br/>
The UK risks losing up to 120,000 jobs from the aviation sector over the next two decades if it does not improve competitiveness, according to a new IATA report. Lack of airport infrastructure in southeast England, the world’s highest rate of passenger charges and taxes, together with a relatively restrictive visa regime are the main negative factors that could impinge on the country’s aviation sector, which currently accounts for 1.6 million jobs and contributes GBP89b annually to the UK’s economy, or 4.5% of GDP, the report stated. At a July 9 IATA briefing in London on the report—“The UK Competitiveness Index and Value of Aviation”—IATA regional VP-Europe Rafael Schvartzman and chief economist Brian Pearce said the UK must do more to maintain or improve its position in the global aviation sector, especially given the need to increase overseas trade links after the country leaves the European Union, scheduled for Oct. 31 this year. The IATA report noted the UK is second, only behind the Netherlands, in terms of low runway infrastructure capacity in a group of 17 European nations. Heathrow operates at 99% capacity and its long-awaited third runway is scheduled to be operational by the middle of the next decade. It still faces likely legal challenges from environmental groups. The UK is also at the bottom of a group of 17 nations in terms of airport and passenger taxes and charges. <br/>
Boeing is set to lose the title of being the world’s biggest planemaker after reporting a 37% drop in deliveries for the first half of the year due to the prolonged grounding of its best-selling MAX jets. Boeing deliveries lagged those of Airbus SE, which on Tuesday said it handed over 389 planes in the same period, up 28% from a year earlier. Reuters had reported Airbus delivery numbers on Friday, citing sources. The numbers indicate that Boeing’s full-year deliveries are likely to fall behind its European rival for the first time in eight years. A new problem identified with the grounded MAX jets last month has delayed the aircraft’s entry into service until at least the end of September, disrupting schedules for airline operators and possibly adding to costs for Boeing. To cope with the fallout after the grounding, Boeing has slowed production to 42 MAX jets per month from 52 earlier, causing the planemaker to take a $1b charge in Q1. J.P. Morgan analyst Seth Seifman has speculated that the new delay could prompt Boeing to consider another production cut and book an additional charge in Q2, hurting 737 margins further. <br/>