The Dutch “green tax” on aviation, which I’ve blogged about here and here, is already negatively affecting Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, according to a report:
Some 50,000 fewer passengers are expected to use Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of Europe’s busiest, this summer on account of a Dutch environmental tax on flights, it was reported Saturday.
“We’re expected zero growth in 2008, and in fact a decrease (in passenger numbers) in July and August,” an airport spokesman was quoted as saying by the domestic ANP news agency.
Tax means fewer travellers at main Dutch airport: report [AFP/Breitbart]
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And just think of how green we’d all be if we just cut the number of flights in half all over the planet. Boggles the mind.
I think the Dutch phrase for “Told you so,” is the same as the one for “Shooting yourself in the foot.”
I’m not sure how it is in other parts of the world, but could the decrease also be due to the rise in the cost of oil? At least for American’s wishing to fly throughout Europe. Ticket prices are up and less people are flying.
These higher taxes prove the simplest of economic theories: increase in price equals a decrease in demand. Just wondering why the United States Congress can’t figure out that allowing off shore drilling will lower the price simply because the FUTURE availability of oil will increase and thus decrease the current price. Of course, they probably do know that but maybe have a different agenda. Hmmm…. well, watch your airspeed, always do your checklist, and be careful landing (and voting). http://www.bentpage.wordpress.com. Maybe I should give up writing novels and switch to non-fiction on this exact subject. Would probably be a best seller.