'Bin Laden tax' hits air travellers' pockets

A "bin Laden tax" and other security charges are hitting airline passengers hard in the pocket.

On a return Qantas flight from Wellington to Sydney, passengers now pay $137.30 in charges.

This includes a $15.80 "terrorist tax" added after the attacks in the United States on September 11.

Other taxes on the return flight are: $46.90 for international departures from Australia, a $4.50 Australian noise levy, a $45.10 passenger service charge for Sydney Airport and a $25 tax from Wellington.

Air New Zealand introduced a "war risk insurance" levy after September 11 to pay for increased aviation insurance.

The charge to passengers is $8 each way for international flights, and $9 each way for domestic flights - more expensive than international flights because of GST.

In November, Air NZ also passed on a $2.15 Civil Aviation Authority fee to passengers.

Air NZ spokesman Cameron Hill said airlines around the world had added security fees to their prices in different ways.

Air NZ chose to make it transparent rather than including it in the ticket price, he said. An additional airport airways tax was not calculated on a per ticket basis so it was impossible to say what percentage of a ticket was for tax.

- NZPA

nzherald.co.nz/travel