Methodology
Every published amount is tied to a named source and a dated review. Official laws, tariffs and notices outrank reporting. When the evidence does not establish that a figure is current, the figure is labelled Unconfirmed instead of being presented as settled fact.
Where the figures come from
We rank sources in this order and use the highest one we can find for each charge.
- The legal text. A decree, law, ministerial order (arrêté) or official gazette that creates or sets the charge.
- The official tariff. The charges published by a civil aviation authority, an airport operator, or in the country's aeronautical information publication (AIP). For 17 French-speaking countries this is the ASECNA publication.
- Official notices. Statements from ministries, civil aviation authorities and tax bodies, and notices passed on by airlines or IATA.
- Government travel advice. For example the UK Foreign Office pages, which often state amounts, exemptions and how to pay.
- Reputable press. Used when nothing official is public. We say "reported" next to the figure. It stays Unconfirmed until an official source backs it.
We do not use AI chatbot answers, forums, social media posts or travel blogs as sources for an amount. We sometimes read them to find out what travellers are being told, then check it against the record.
Each charge on an airport page carries small numbers that link to its sources at the bottom of the page. The downloadable CSV and JSON dataset also include the source titles and working source URLs attached to each charge.
What the status labels mean
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| In force | An official source, or more than one reliable source, shows the charge is being collected now. |
| Suspended | The charge exists in law but the authorities have stopped collecting it for now. We give the date and the notice. |
| Proposed only | The charge has been announced, tendered or put to a parliament, but no one is paying it yet. |
| Unconfirmed | We have a figure but could not confirm it is current. The note next to it says why. Check your ticket receipt. |
When an airport page goes live
An airport page is published only if at least one of these is true:
- We have confirmed at least one charge that is in force today.
- Its figures come from an official tariff that is no more than three years old. In that case the page carries a banner at the top that says the figures are Unconfirmed and names the source and its date.
Airports that meet neither test are listed on the airports page under "Still being checked", with no figures, until we find a reliable source.
How often we check
- Every airport page shows a "Last checked" date near the top.
- We aim to review each page at least once a month, and sooner when a change is announced. A displayed date records the last completed evidence review; it is not changed merely to make a page look fresh.
- Pages that rely on the three-year rule are checked again before their source turns three years old. If nothing newer turns up, the page comes down.
- Each page keeps a change log at the bottom. Site-wide corrections and material data changes are listed on the corrections page.
Amounts and currencies
- We show each charge in the currency the authority set it in. We do not convert. Exchange rates move, and the official amount is what counts.
- "Each way" means you pay on arrival and again on departure.
- "Inside the ticket" means the airline collects the charge when you buy the ticket. Your receipt lists it by a short code. Everything else is paid separately, usually at the airport or online.
- Exemptions, such as infants, diplomats and transit passengers, are listed with each charge when a source states them.
How the calculator works
The calculator adds up the charges we track for the airport, trip and passport you choose. It counts figures marked Unconfirmed and tags them, so you can see what the total depends on. Suspended and proposed charges are shown but not added. Totals are kept in separate currencies.
What we do not do
- We do not say whether a fee is fair, too high or good value. We say what it is, who set it and where the money goes.
- We do not cover visa fees, baggage fees or airline surcharges.
- Nothing here is legal or financial advice. If an amount matters to you, check your ticket receipt or ask the airline.
Found a mistake?
Write to [email protected] with the page and, if you can, the official source. We check every message and log every change.