What are Airport taxes and charges?

Airport taxes and charges are government and airport levies contained in the ticket price and passed on to third parties.

Also called: Departure tax, Passenger service charge.

How it works#

They attach to processing a passenger and therefore only arise when the flight is actually taken. Hence the practically important point: a passenger who does not travel can generally reclaim these elements, even on non-refundable fares. Their size varies widely by airport and explains why the same route costs different amounts from different cities.

Not to be confused with#

Airport charges are not the same as a carrier-imposed surcharge: the airline sets the surcharge itself and keeps it, while charges are passed to the state and the airport.

In German#

The German term is Flughafengebühren und Steuern. German version of this term

Related terms#

• Base fare: The base fare is the pure transport price of a ticket, before taxes, airport charges and airline surcharges are added.
• Carrier-imposed surcharge: A carrier-imposed surcharge is a fee set by the airline itself and added to a ticket, payable in cash on award bookings on top of the miles.
• Refund: A refund is the repayment of the fare when a flight is cancelled or the passenger no longer wants to travel after a disruption.

Articles that use this term#

• When do you get money back for a flight you didn’t take?
• What’s in the fare rules, and why read them?
• What is a foreign transaction fee and when does it apply?
• Why one-way awards cost half, when one-way cash fares often don’t