Lufthansa Adds Environmental Cost Surcharge to Flights

Lufthansa Group has added a new surcharge to flight tickets to help cover rising costs of regulatory environmental requirements. 

The new surcharge will range from 1 to 72 euros depending on the flight route and fare. It takes effect immediately for flights departing Europe starting Jan. 1, 2025. 

“Lufthansa Group has actively supported global climate and weather research for many years,” the airline shared in a statement. “However, 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.” 

The EU has instituted sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) quotas that airlines must reach, which gradually increase overtime until airlines are using at least 70% SAF by 2050. According to Lufthansa, this, plus other climate protection measures, will cost billions. 

Lufthansa aims to be carbon neutral by 2050 and to halve its net carbon emissions from 2019 by 2030.