To offset the rising price of eco regulations and increase sustainable air travel, Lufthansa Group will add an Environmental Cost Surcharge on all tickets sold to and from the UK and 29 European countries from 26 June 2024 for departures from 1 January 2025.
The Environmental Cost Surcharge will vary between €1 – €72 (around AUD$1.61 –$116), depending on the flight route and fare, with the exact amount reflected in the price details on Lufthansa Group Airlines booking pages.
It will include the initial statutory blending quota of two per cent for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for departures from European Union (EU) countries from 1 January 2025, adjustments to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and other regulatory costs such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
Lufthansa Group hopes to mitigate the increasing additional costs due to these regulatory requirements by introducing the new tax in 2025.
The Environmental Cost Surcharge will apply to all flights sold and operated by the Group departing from the 27 EU countries as well as the UK, Norway and Switzerland.
Among the world’s top 20 airlines for 2024 as named by Skytrax, Lufthansa has set ambitious climate protection targets for a neutral CO₂ balance by 2050.
By 2030, it aims to halve its net carbon emissions compared to 2019 by using a modern fleet and SAF, optimising flight operations and offering passenger incentives such as the introduction of Green Fares in 2023 to reduce carbon emissions by up to 20 per cent and make air travel more sustainable.
Lufthansa aims to invest €2.5 billion (around AUD$4 billion) in product and service upgrades by 2025.
