Sweden has announced plans to abolish its air transport tax – but the move has triggered a furious reaction from green groups.

The Swedish government has announced that it will abolish a tax on air transport currently levied on flyers.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has scrapped the charge that is currently charged to passengers, saying will help to lower the cost of flights and help make Sweden an “international hub”.

He said: “If we want to protect the possibility of having good air connections in Sweden and make Sweden an international hub, we must ensure that we do not undermine the competitive advantage that Sweden may have.

“This is in line with long-term climate policy and allows for the preservation of travel opportunities in a very large country.”

The tax depends on the distance travelled by a passenger and was introduced by the previous left-wing government in 2018. The idea behind the tax was to reduce the effects of air transport on global warming.

But environmental groups are outraged about the decision, claiming it will increase the number of flights and greenhouse emissions.

Daniel Kihlberg, climate director at the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, said: “It’s completely against the trend; the government is completely abandoning climate policy,” reports Aftonbladet.

‌However, Energy Minister Ebba Busch stressed that only “a minority of countries in the EU had an air transport tax.”

She said: “As far as Sweden’s climate goals are concerned, it won’t make a huge amount of difference.

“Our ambition is that this is going to increase the amount of air passengers, which in the long run, will mean more air traffic. 

“This is going to affect climate emissions, but that’s something we’ll look at later on.”

The tax will be scrapped on July 1, 2025.

‌It has generated tax revenues of around 1.8 billion kronor (£13billion) per year. For a traveller staying within Europe, it costs around 76 kronor (£5.44) based on this year’s tax rate.

But trips to the USA have involved a tax of 315 kronor (£22.53) and for countries such as Thailand, it has been about 504 kronor (£36) per passenger.

Linda Lindberg, the Sweden Democrats’ group leader, said: “We are doing this to promote air traffic across the country and to improve accessibility across the country. 

“This will mean, quite simply, lower ticket prices.” 

The government had previously considered halving the tax but has instead now opted to abolish it altogether.