The Belgian government reached an agreement on the country's budget and took 100 different decisions. One of these decisions is the introduction of a fee for short-haul flights.
Passengers departing from a Belgian airport to a destination less than 500 kilometers away will have to pay an additional fee of between 4 and 6 euros. With this decision, the Belgian government wants to encourage people to choose alternative modes of travel, especially trains. This additional fee should bring EUR 30 million annually to the state budget.
A quick look at the map of Europe shows that flights to the following destinations will be charged extra: London, United Kingdom; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stuttgart, Germany; Paris and Strasbourg, France; Basel and Zurich, Switzerland.