Firstly, I would like to point out that under the EU internal market rules for aviation, airlines have complete freedom in setting their fares. What comprises “taxes, fees and charges” in the context of airline travel is very often misconstrued. Most elements are not, in fact, taxes imposed by the State; e.g. in the case of travel from Ireland the only tax imposed by the State is the Air Travel Tax which currently applies at the rate of €3 per departing passenger. Rather, the majority of what are often referred to as "taxes, fees and charges" are charges imposed by the airlines themselves. In general, these can include charges such as security charges, insurance surcharges, fuel surcharges etc. In some cases, they may reflect charges imposed by other Government authorities or by airport authorities but in most cases, these charges are not payable by the airline to any other organisation. If there is any evidence that various charges are being misrepresented to consumers, then the National Consumer Agency has the power to investigate such claims.
