British tourists face yet another fee in Spain as new 'emission tax' considered

Spain may soon consider imposing a tax on emissions from private jets and luxury yachts to reduce the environmental impact caused by their “abusive” use.

The issue was brought to the Congress of Deputies by the left-wing political platform Sumar, who has registered a non-binding motion.

The initiative is signed by the left-wing “alliance” deputies En Comú, Aina Vidal and Júlia Boada.

Although the use of private jets has traditionally been associated with business and luxury travel, Sumar believes there has been a “clear process of change” and that it is now more linked to luxury holiday and tourist activity.

Citing a report published by Greenpeace in September 2024 the two politicians pointed out that private jets are increasingly being used for leisure travel, following the same seasonal pattern as traditional tourism.

The study analysed private jet landings at 45 airports at top tourist destination airports.

The report states that in 2023 there were 117,965 private jet flights, mostly during the summer holiday season. Of these, 27,122 took place in Spain, accounting for 23% of all countries analysed, and caused around 134,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Of these 27,122 flights – a third of them were “very short-haul”, says the report.

Palma Airport saw the most private jet landings in Spain with 7,502, closely followed by 6,504 in Ibiza and 6,314 at Málaga airport. Barcelona-El Prat airport saw 4,826 whilst Menorca recorded 843. 

Meanwhile, luxury yachts have more than doubled since 2000, with 150 new vessels every year, according to Sumar. 

This news comes just a month after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced plans to slap a 100 percent tax on foreign buyers looking to purchase second homes in the country in a bid to tackle its housing affordability issues and high rents.

He announced the measure as part of a 12-point plan to tackle housing problems, which would also see homeowners operating short-term Airbnb-style holiday rental properties taxed as if they were running hotels.