The Lufthansa Group has announced the introduction of an Environmental Cost Surcharge, which the group says is intended to cover “part of the steadily rising additional costs due to regulatory environmental requirements”.
The requirements, Lufthansa says, are to blame for the introduction of the surcharge include “the statutory blending quota of initially two percent for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for departures from EU countries from January 1, 2025, adjustments to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as well as other regulatory environmental costs such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)”.
The Environmental Cost Surcharge applies to all flights sold and operated by the Lufthansa Group departing from the 27 EU countries as well as the UK, Norway and Switzerland.
The amount of the surcharge varies depending on the flight route and fare and is between €1 and €72, and will be levied on all tickets issued from June 26, 2024.
The surcharge will be applied to departures from January 1, 2025.
Lufthansa explained that it “invests billions in new technologies every year” alongside working with partners on “innovations that help to make flying more sustainable”, but believe that 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”.
A spokesman from Lufthansa said any claims that the surcharge will increase every ticket price are ""incorrect"": ""The calculation basis for the new Environmental Cost Surcharge is the flight distance and the price level of the respective fare. The exact amount of the Environmental Cost Surcharge is shown in the price details.
""On short to medium-haul flights the surcharge is from €1 to €7, for long-haul flights from €6 to €72. The highest surcharge of €72 is only levied on a long-haul flight in First Class"".
Lufthansa raises fares with new environmental surcharge
