Airport taxes: how to get them back if you do not fly

You paid for your ticket to Dakar, Accra, Banjul or Lagos, and the trip will not happen. A death in the family, a refused visa, cancelled leave, a missed flight: the airline tells you the ticket is "non-refundable". That is true of the fare. It is not true of the taxes, and many travellers lose that money without knowing it.

Scope of this guide: it covers tickets sold by a seller subject to French law (an airline, an agency or a website). Other countries have their own rules, and this guide does not describe them.

At a glance

What the law says

Article L224-66 of the French Consumer Code (from the 2014 Hamon law, first numbered L113-8) allows a traveller who does not use a ticket to get back the taxes and charges that are itemised and shown as such on it. According to the INC, this right applies even if the ticket is contractually non-exchangeable and non-refundable. You only have to ask, by any means, including online.

The principle is simple: an airport tax is due when you board. If you do not board, nobody paid it to the airport or the State for your journey, so the airline has no reason to keep it.

Which taxes are refundable

Look at the breakdown on your ticket or booking confirmation for the tax lines. Consumer associations mainly mention:

• the passenger service charge (code QX on an international flight);
• the airport tax (code QW on a domestic flight);
• the civil aviation tax (code FR);
• the solidarity tax (code 04 or IZ).

Codes can vary by airline: what matters is that the tax is shown separately from the ticket price.

In principle the following are not refunded:

• the fuel surcharge (often coded YQ or YR), set by the airline;
• service or issuing fees charged by an agency or booking website.

As an order of magnitude, the refundable taxes are most often a few tens of euros per passenger on a long-haul flight, proportionally more on a low-cost ticket. It is small per ticket, but for a family of four it quickly adds up.

Deadlines and fees

The airline must refund you no later than 30 days after receiving your request. The INC states that it risks an administrative fine if it goes over that deadline.

It may ask for a processing fee, but the fee is limited to 20% of the amount refunded and should cost nothing if you apply online. Many airlines nonetheless charge "administration fees" equal to the taxes themselves, which empties the refund of its meaning. If that happens to you, dispute it in writing and cite Article L224-66.

How to apply, step by step

1. Find the taxes on your e-ticket or invoice and note the amounts.
2. Write to the seller: the airline if you bought from it, the agency or website if you booked through them.
3. Use a dated channel: the online form if the airline has one (it is free), otherwise e-mail or registered letter with proof of delivery.
4. Cite the law: "Under Article L224-66 of the French Consumer Code, I request the refund of the taxes and charges of my unused ticket, reference ___, within 30 days."
5. Keep the proof: booking confirmation, a copy of your request, the acknowledgement of receipt.
6. Follow up after 30 days if nothing has arrived, then report the case to the travel mediator if the airline belongs to one, or to the French consumer authority (DGCCRF).

Taxes, ticket refund, compensation: do not confuse them

These are three different rights, which do not always exclude one another.

• Refund of the taxes: you do not travel, by your own choice. This is the subject of this article.
• Refund of the whole ticket: the airline cancels your flight, or you give up a very delayed flight. See cancelled flights and your rights and how to refuse a voucher and demand a cash refund.
• EC261 compensation: the flight arrives more than three hours late, is cancelled late, or you are denied boarding. It can reach EUR 250, 400 or 600 per passenger, whatever the ticket price. See the amounts by distance.

If your flight was cancelled or delayed, you can therefore combine the two: the refund of what you did not use, and the compensation owed by the airline. A traveller who gave up a badly disrupted flight and only asked for the taxes often leaves the compensation on the table.

Missed flight or denied boarding

If you missed your flight, the taxes remain refundable, and depending on the cause other rights may open up. See what happens when you miss a connection. And if the airline offers a voucher rather than a refund, you can demand cash in the cases covered by the regulation.

Why it matters more on Europe-Africa flights

Taxes and charges weigh more heavily on Europe-Africa tickets: according to AFRAA, they average USD 68 per international passenger in Africa, against USD 32 in Europe. What can be returned on an unused ticket therefore weighs more in the budget of a diaspora family.

One caution, however: Article L224-66 is a French text. It clearly applies when your ticket was bought from a seller subject to French law. For a tax collected at an African airport, the airline may have its own refund rules: ask in every case, and state which law applies to your contract.

The rule to remember

A "non-refundable" ticket is non-refundable only for the fare. Under French law the airport taxes come back to you, on simple request, within 30 days. Apply in writing, online if possible, cite Article L224-66, refuse administration fees that eat the refund, and do not confuse this right with the EUR 250 to 600 compensation you may claim if your flight was delayed, cancelled or you were denied boarding.

Further reading

• French National Consumer Institute fact sheet (in French): Vous annulez votre vol et souhaitez récupérer les taxes et redevances.
• Legal text: Article L224-66 of the French Consumer Code (formerly L113-8), available on Légifrance.