Germany should postpone the introduction of an aviation levy designed to lower emissions because the sector has already been dealt a blow by the coronavirus, Klaus-Peter Willsch, aviation expert of Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party, says. “The aviation tax hike must be postponed by at least a year,” the MP, who heads the parliament’s aviation group, told Wirtschaftswoche magazine, according to CLEW.

“It is grossly negligent and short-sighted to impose an additional burden on the German aviation industry in this difficult situation.” He added that flight cancellations and lower demand due to the coronavirus crisis mean the aviation sector will likely overfulfill its emissions reduction targets this year anyway.

As part of its Climate Action Programme 2030, the government plans to do away with “flawed incentives” that lead to cheap airplane tickets. It plans to increase the aviation levy on 1 April by up to 17 euros per flight, which could result in a total levy of up to 60 euros, the report said. At Berlin’s airports, the number of passengers fell by almost 9 percent in January and February compared to last year, local newspaper Tagesspiegel reports.