Have you ever flown out of the UK and paid an exorbitant amount in random taxes and fees? Annoying, right? Each country in Europe handles taxes and fees differently. Some countries like Italy seemingly add BS taxes onto airfare just for the sake of making money, without any other purpose, but don’t get me wrong — a country has every right to charge what they want.
I always find myself checking what each country charges when it comes to taxes and fees. I decided to do some research and put together a bit of analysis on select major cities in Europe and what you can expect to pay in taxes and fees on your airfare.
It’s important to note that you will be charged for the country from which you depart and the fees listed here are added by the country, not the airline. This is an important distinction as often the airline surcharges and fees are an arbitrary number that fluctuates.
(click images to enlarge)
United Kingdom
Germany
Spain
Italy
France
Ireland
Departure Taxes by Airport
As you can see, the United Kingdom, driven mostly by London, is by far the country that levies the highest amount of departure taxes and fees on airfare. In fact, the average UK taxes are ~68% higher than the second-highest country, Germany.
In the graphic below, you’ll see the departure taxes by each airport and the country.
(click to enlarge)
Not surprising, both London airports top the list at North of $150, with Helsinki, Finland (HEL) coming in at a mere $18.10.
Average Departure Taxes by Country
So how does each country stack up against each other? No surprises yet again that the UK is highest on the list in average departure tax levied.
(click to enlarge)
How to Find this Information for Yourself
If you’re looking to book a flight and are curious how much additional you’ll be paying in taxes and fees, the best method is by using ITA Matrix.
To this, first, enter your flight information…
Select your flight…
Find the taxes and fees…
The Data
Updated: 4/1/2018
| City | Code | Country | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| London-Heathrow | LHR | United Kingdom | $172.70 |
| London-City | LCY | United Kingdom | $172.70 |
| Manchester | MAN | United Kingdom | $136.30 |
| Birmingham | BHX | United Kingdom | $129.70 |
| London-Gatwick | LGW | United Kingdom | $129.20 |
| London-Stansted | STN | United Kingdom | $125.90 |
| Frankfurt-Main | FRA | Germany | $104.00 |
| Munich | MUC | Germany | $88.70 |
| Berlin | TXL | Germany | $79.40 |
| Berlin | SXF | Germany | $71.40 |
| Paris-CDG | CDG | France | $65.90 |
| Paris-Orly | ORY | France | $62.80 |
| Rome-Fiumicino | FCO | Italy | $52.00 |
| Nice | NCE | France | $40.80 |
| Athens | ATH | Greece | $40.70 |
| Marseille | MRS | France | $40.20 |
| Toulouse | TLS | France | $39.80 |
| Zurich | ZRH | Switzerland | $36.60 |
| Milan | MXP | Italy | $34.80 |
| Lisbon | LIS | Portugal | $34.40 |
| Madrid | MAD | Spain | $31.40 |
| Venice | VCE | Italy | $30.60 |
| Amsterdam | AMS | Netherlands | $28.70 |
| Barcelona | BCN | Spain | $26.40 |
| Naples | NAP | Italy | $25.90 |
| Dublin | DUB | Ireland | $25.60 |
| Oslo | OSL | Norway | $24.90 |
| Cork | ORK | Ireland | $24.50 |
| Reykjavik | KEF | Iceland | $23.10 |
| Shannon | SNN | Ireland | $21.70 |
| Helsinki | HEL | Finland | $18.10 |
excellent analysis! super interesting for data nerds like myself.
Thanks!
great article!!
Glad you enjoyed!