HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - Ahead of the National Aviation Conference this Monday, Lufthansa 's Carsten Spohr has called for a reform of the aviation tax. The revenue should go into the development of sustainable fuels, Spohr told the "Tagesspiegel Background" newspaper. "I would like to see the coalition agreement implemented at this point." There also needs to be a Europe-wide aviation tax to ensure a level playing field, he added.

The SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed in the coalition agreement not to consider raising the tax until after 2023. Revenues from the aviation tax are to be used to promote the production and use of CO2-neutral, electricity-based aviation fuels, as well as for research, development and fleet modernization in the aviation sector.

In view of repeated staffing problems at airports, Lufthansa is now threatening to cancel contracts with external ground service providers. According to the report, one alternative would be for the Group to take over some of the tasks itself again. "If the ground service providers do not become attractive enough as employers, we will have to consider whether, as a last resort, we will not bring some services back into the Group," Spohr said in the interview.

The aviation conference in Hamburg will focus on the transformation of aviation toward climate neutrality, which the industry and the German government wanted to play an active role in shaping. The conference will be officially opened (10:15 a.m.) by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD)./bf/DP/zb