An Airbus A340-300 and an Airbus A 321-100 belonging to Lufthansa are parked on the airport apron.
Helmut Fricke | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
German airline firm Lufthansa Group said Tuesday that it will add an “environmental cost surcharge” to ticket prices as soon as this week, which could possibly be as high as 72 euros ($77) for some flights.
“The surcharge is meant to cover a part of the steadily rising additional costs because of regulatory environmental requirements,” Lufthansa said in an announcement, pointing to regulations from the European Union and International Civil Aviation Organization.
The extra cost can be applied to fights departing from any of the 27 member countries of the European Union, in addition to the U.K., Norway and Switzerland, Lufthansa said. All flights sold or operated by Lufthansa Group, which owns airlines including Lufthansa, Eurowings, Swiss and Edelweiss Air and Austrian Airlines, can be subject to the charge.
“The quantity of the surcharge varies depending on the flight route and fare and is between 1 euro and 72 euros,” Lufthansa said, adding that the precise amount can be visible to customers throughout the booking stage.
The fee can be applied to all tickets issued from June 26 — Wednesday this week — which can be for flights departing from Jan. 1, 2025, Lufthansa said.
Environmental regulations
Several regulations from institutions including the EU would increase costs for airlines, Lufthansa said.
This includes EU quotas for the way much sustainable aviation fuel is used. These are set to come back into effect in 2025 and increase over time until 2050.
Sustainable aviation fuel is a substitute for fossil fuels, and might be made from products resembling waste oil and fats, non-food crops and other waste materials. It will possibly even be created in a process that captures carbon from the air.
The International Air Transport Association says sustainable aviation fuel could cover around 65% of the emissions reduction the aviation industry needs to attain to succeed in net zero by 2050.
Lufthansa said Tuesday that the quotas would “result in additional costs within the billions in the long run.”
The corporate also pointed to the emissions trading systems from the EU, Switzerland and U.K. as a think about its increasing environmental costs. These programs control and limit the quantity of permitted emissions, with the general cap set to diminish over time with the goal of emissions being lowered.
Finally, Lufthansa also said the International Civil Aviation Organization’s climate protection agreement, which also sets out to regulate emissions, played a task.
Lufthansa said it was investing heavily in technology to make aviation more sustainable and supporting climate research.
“Nevertheless, the airline group won’t give you the option to bear the successively increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements in the approaching years by itself. Part of those expected costs for the yr 2025 at the moment are to be covered by the brand new Environmental Cost Surcharge,” the corporate said.
