A new holiday tax will impact passengers of airlines such as Ryanair, EasyJet, Jet2 and TUI from 2025. For a family tourism destination, the measure is complete nonsense, although business organisations in the sector relied on the theory that the Canary Islands, being an ultra-peripheral region of the EU, escaped this eco-tax. Short-haul flights (up to 3.200 kilometres) such as Gran Canaria will be subject to fares of 18 euros for discounted tickets and 38 euros for standard tickets. Long-haul flights cost 116 euros for discounted tickets and 277 euros for standard tickets. Ultra-long-haul destinations will be taxed with 121 euros for discounted fares and up to 289 euros for standard tickets. Flights on private jets and cabins will be 1.303 euros for ultra-long-haul flights.
Airline taxes applied to tourists travelling to the Canary Islands vary considerably depending on the market of origin, such as Norway, Germany and England, directly affecting ticket prices. In the case of Norway, passengers are often subject to high environmental taxes, which can significantly increase the cost of flights. In Germany, air taxes include taxes for environmental protection.
In England, tourists are subject to Air Passenger Duty (APD), which also varies depending on the distance of the destination. Flights to the Canary Islands from the UK are affected by a fee that depends on the level of emissions from the aircraft and the distance of the journey, which can make ticket prices higher on long routes. Air taxes in all these markets significantly affect the competitiveness of Canary Islands destinations, as despite being one of the most popular options for European tourists, the cost of taxes influences travellers' decisions.
According to a recent study, from April 2026, a family of four travelling south of Gran Canaria will have to pay up to €471 in flight tax. For long-haul destinations outside the European Union, such as Australia, the levy rises to €488 for a family of four, which equates to €122 per person. Darwin Friend of the TaxPayers Alliance criticised these in January 2025, pointing out that, “while the Prime Minister travels around the world without paying APD out of his own pocket”. Former British Airways chairman Willie Walsh, a former head of IATA, questioned Labour’s priorities, stating that “aviation supports 1,6 million jobs and contributes more than €146.000 billion to GDP”. Tim Alderslade, director of Airlines UK, warned that this tax will make the UK less competitive, directly affecting workers' pockets and making it difficult for airlines to open and maintain the tourism industry.
