Flying between European countries with Lufthansa will soon cost more. The leading European airline group announced this Tuesday to increase the price of all its European flights to cover, according to it, part of the costs linked to the environmental requirements of the European Commission.
The surcharge will apply for all scheduled flights “from January 1, 2025“, departing from the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) as well as the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland, the group indicated in a press release. Its amount will vary”depending on the route and flight price“, on a scale between 1 and 72 euros, added Lufthansa.
“The airline group will not be able to bear alone the increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements in the years to come“, justified Lufthansa.
The company is referring to mandatory quotas imposed by the EU aimed at incorporating more sustainable fuels (sustainable aviation fuel, SAF) into aircraft tanks, in order to gradually replace kerosene.
The share of SAF must reach 2% from 2025, 6% in 2030, then 20% from 2035 and finally 70% in 2050.
However, SAF production corresponded in 2023 to 0.5% of global demand for aviation fuel. Due to this low availability, their price is still three to five times higher than fossil kerosene, according to Lufthansa.
This environmental supplement is in addition to another surplus, optional this time, offered to travelers by Lufthansa and other airlines, to offset their carbon emissions through climate protection projects.
This process was the subject of a complaint by consumer associations last year to the European Commission, accusing around twenty airlines of “greewaching (eco-laundering) and “deceptive commercial practices”.
“We are currently in discussion with the European Commission” on this subject, said a Lufthansa spokesperson.
