Airports Council International Asia-Pacific & Middle East (ACI APAC & MID) has urged the Australian government to “consider the broader economic impact of increasing passenger taxes and levies on travel affordability, tourism competitiveness and connectivity, and to ensure revenue collected is reinvested into the aviation system to enhance productivity.”
“The Australian government’s decision to increase the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC) to A$80 (US$57) per outbound international passenger, effective January 1, 2027, presents an important opportunity to direct additional revenue toward border modernization and passenger experience improvements in line with neighboring airports across the region, such as Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore,” ACI APAC & MID said in a statement. The organization noted that only around half of PMC revenue is currently directed toward border management purposes and urged the Australian government to consider reinvesting these funds in digital and biometric border processing technologies.
ACI’s position is aligned with the long-standing policy framework of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which calls on states to reduce, to the fullest practicable extent, and make plans to eliminate taxation on the sale or use of international air transportation.
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