In an important parliamentary intervention to three Ministers with substantial, as well as bold proposals to reduce the prices of air and ferry tickets in the island regions, the MP for the Dodecanese, Mr. Manos Konsolas, proceeded.
In his intervention to the Ministers of Finance, Transport and Shipping, Mr. Konsolas states that in the island regions of the country the cost of air tickets in particular has increased and in some cases a necessary trip for a resident of the islands becomes prohibitive due to its price.
Subsidized air routes have few available seats, the seats offered at low prices by the companies are also few, with the result that when these seats are sold out, only the highest fares are available.
He also refers to the need for interventions to reduce the price of ferry tickets.
He also emphasizes that in Rhodes – which was initially exempted from the reduction in VAT rates – citizens are significantly burdened with the high prices of air and ferry tickets for their necessary travel, while the same applies to other islands.
With the proposals submitted by Manos Konsolas, he asks the government to examine:
1st: The content of the Ecofin decision, where for the first time in an institutional, legislative text of the European Union, Greece’s right to have reduced VAT rates on the Aegean islands on a permanent basis was recorded, but, mainly, the provision for a super-reduced or even zero VAT rate on certain categories of goods and services that cover basic needs.
As the Member of Parliament states, air and coastal transport to the islands fall into this category since they cover basic needs.
2nd: The exact budgetary cost of interventions such as:
The inclusion of air tickets in the super-reduced or zero VAT rate.
The reduction of VAT on ferry tickets for vehicles and motorcycles from 24% to 13%. There is even European Directive 2022/542 that promotes the harmonization of VAT imposed on tickets for Private Use vehicles and motorcycles,
The inclusion of ferry tickets in the zero VAT rate or the increase in the available resources allocated for the Transport Equivalent in order to cover the basic travel needs of the islanders by coastal shipping.
As Mr. Konsolas emphasizes, if we know the exact fiscal cost, we will be able to calculate the scope and direction of interventions that could be made to reduce the prices of air and ferry tickets for the islanders.
3rd: Especially for air tickets, an intervention to reduce taxes on the price of the ticket and especially the charging of the passenger terminal fee, which for El. Venizelos and the 14 Regional Airports (including Rhodes and Kos) is particularly high, should be considered.
