Tax unites Aer Lingus and Ryanair for first time

RYANAIR and Aer Lingus have called for the scrapping of the Government’s €10 travel tax, marking the first time the two airlines have issued a joint statement on any issue.

The tax was expected to raise €95 million in 2009 and €150m in a full year. However, figures from Revenue show the Government has collected just €58m from the tax in five months and it has now revised its estimates to €125m.

Airline analyst, Joe Gill, estimates the tax could cost the economy around €450m a year as tourists will stop coming to Ireland.