Nipping away for a weekend break, or jet setting overseas for a longer holiday is about to get that much more expensive as Lufthansa introduces an extra surcharge of up to €72 (£61) per ticket.
The Frankfurt-based group, which operates Eurowings, Swiss and Austrian Airlines will import the charge on all EU countries as well as the UK, Norway and Switzerland.
On Tuesday Lufthansa confirmed the extra charge was to try and combat rising costs due to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandates, by passing a portion of these on to the consumer.
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“The airline group will not be able to bear the successively increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements in the coming years on its own. Part of these expected costs for the year 2025 are now to be covered by the new Environmental Cost Surcharge,” read a press release sent by the carrier.
This Environmental Cost Surcharge took effect for any tickets booked from 26 June and will apply to departures after 1 January 2025. It will range in price from €1 To €72 depending on the distance travelled.
In April of this year, the UK Government announced that all jet fuel flights taking off from the UK must ensure 10% of their jet fuel comes from sustainable sources, to try and work towards decarbonising air travel.
In addition to this, the EU will require all EU airports to use a blend of jet fuel and SAF – starting at 2% from 2025, 6% from 2030, 20% from 2035 and 70% from 2050 as part of its “Fit for 55” climate protection program
Lufthansa Group says this will lead to an increase in costs in the billions.
“I think it is logical to assume that other airlines will follow Lufthansa’s lead as it looks to pass on the increasing cost of environmental regulations in the EU,” Dudley Shanley, an analyst at Goodbody, told the Majorca Daily Bulletin.
One airline already has. In January 2022 Air France-KLM imposed an SAF contribution charge, adding up to €12 on business class tickets and €4 on Economy seats.
SAF produces up to 70% less carbon emissions than the traditional fossil fuels used in most commercial flights. It is made from waste materials or by-products – like household waste, industrial gases or used cooking oil.
Aviation accounts for 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, according to Our World in Data. However it has contributed around 4% to global warming to date.
This is because planes create a long term decrease in ozone and methane, and increased emissions of water vapour, soot, sulphur aerosols, and water contrails. Although some of these can create a cooling effect, the overall effect is one of warming.
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