Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
IATA Slams Misguided Solidarity Levy Proposal on Aviation
Cruising Heights
|July 2025
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has voiced strong opposition to the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force (GSLTF) proposal to impose a tax on air travel, unveiled on 4 July 2025 in Geneva, aimed at boosting revenue for developing countries and addressing climate change, pandemics, and development challenges.
-
IATA Director General Willie Walsh labelled the plan "deeply disappointing," citing its flawed assumptions and potential harm to the aviation sector. The GSLTF estimates a premium flyer levy could raise EUR 78 billion (USD 90 billion) annually-triple the industry's 2024 profit of USD 32.4 billion-despite airlines' thin 3.4 per cent net margin, far below the global average.
This story is from the July 2025 edition of Cruising Heights.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Cruising Heights
Cruising Heights
Cultural Overhaul & Fiscal Discipline: The Internal Battle
While Air India's new A350s and the revamped Maharaja Lounges might project an image of a carrier aggressively competing on a global stage, the actual situation within the airline's boardroom is one of intense, high-stakes crisis management.
2 mins
May 2026
Cruising Heights
The Fuel Supply Squeeze and the Import Parity Absurdity
The misery does not stop at taxation.
1 mins
May 2026
Cruising Heights
India's race to build a new logistics powerhouse
India's air cargo industry is being reshaped by crisis — and opportunity. War-driven disruption across West Asia, rising freight rates, scarce freighter capacity and growing congestion at major airports are forcing the sector to adapt faster than ever before. Yet the turbulence has also opened a strategic window for India to position itself as a global logistics hub rather than merely a large cargo market
4 mins
May 2026
Cruising Heights
How Bad Did It Get?
The scale of what Maharashtra's move preceded tells you everything about the desperation driving it.
1 min
May 2026
Cruising Heights
India Finally Moves on Fuel Tax
The state finance department's notification came quietly, but for an industry running on fumes, it felt like an oxygen mask dropping in a depressurising cabin.
1 min
May 2026
Cruising Heights
VIRAL CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN AIMS TO BUY SPIRIT AIRLINES
There was a time when buying an airline required three things: a billionaire, a government bailout, or a mysterious investor from the Gulf arriving with a term sheet and a private jet.
2 mins
May 2026
Cruising Heights
Adani's Airport gamble brings US-India aviation showdown
What began as a seemingly routine airport redevelopment plan has escalated into one of the most consequential aviation disputes of the decade.
5 mins
May 2026
Cruising Heights
The Fragmented Tax Cartel
The core vulnerability of Indian aviation is operating in a high-cost environment where state governments treat jet fuel as a primary fiscal cash cow.
1 mins
May 2026
Cruising Heights
Final Boarding Call For EBACE
For nearly 25 years, May in Geneva marked the annual convergence of global business aviation's most influential voices at EBACE.
7 mins
May 2026
Cruising Heights
India's Pilots And The Fatigue Trap
Two young pilots died within 48 hours.
9 mins
May 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size