WILLEMSTAD, THE HAGUE – A higher Dutch aviation tax on flights to Curaçao and the other Caribbean parts of the Kingdom could have significant negative consequences for their economies and weaken connectivity within the Kingdom, according to the Dutch government.
The assessment provides one of the clearest explanations yet for why the Cabinet decided not to treat Curaçao simply as another long-distance destination when redesigning the Netherlands’ aviation tax.
The Netherlands plans to introduce three aviation tax categories from 2027. Under the normal distance formula, destinations more than 5,500 kilometers from Amsterdam would face the highest tax of €70.86 per departing passenger.
Curaçao and the other Caribbean parts of the Kingdom would ordinarily fall into that category because of their distance from the Netherlands.
Instead, they will be placed alongside short-distance destinations in the lowest €29.40 category.
The Cabinet says independent research showed that imposing the higher rate would have “significant negative side effects” for the local economies of the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom as well as for connections between the islands and the European Netherlands.
That economic argument has now become part of the Dutch government’s legal defense of the special treatment.
The Council of State questioned why Dutch Caribbean territories should receive a lower tax while other overseas territories located at comparable distances do not.
The government responded that three factors are being considered: geographic distance, the territories’ position under European Union law and their constitutional status.
For the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, the Cabinet says their constitutional relationship with the Netherlands and the serious economic impact of a higher tax justify placing them in the lowest category.
The exception could be particularly significant for Curaçao, where the Netherlands remains one of the island’s most important tourism markets and air connections also serve residents traveling for family, education, business and other purposes.
The broader Dutch aviation tax reform is designed to make passengers on longer flights pay more because such flights generate greater external costs. According to the government, these include climate damage, health effects and noise pollution. The differentiated tax is also intended to raise €257 million annually.
However, the government’s position on the Dutch Caribbean acknowledges that applying the same distance formula everywhere could produce consequences extending beyond environmental policy.
For Curaçao, the outcome is potentially substantial. Instead of moving from €29.40 to €70.86 per departing passenger under the proposed 2027 system, passengers traveling from the Netherlands to the island would remain subject to the lowest category.
That amounts to a difference of €41.46 per passenger compared with the normal long-distance rate.