Lufthansa Group to add up to €72 environmental levy to fares

The surcharge will apply on all tickets sold from 26 June for departures from 1 January 2025 on main brands Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings. It will also apply to flights on Lufthansa CityLine and Lufthansa City Airlines.

Lufthansa Group said the Environmental Cost Surcharge was intended to cover part of additional costs resulting from environmental laws. These include the statutory blending of 2% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for departures from EU countries from January 1, 2025.

The EU’s SAF requirement rises to 6% from 2030, 20% from 2035 and 70% from 2050. Lufthansa Group said this would lead to additional costs “in the billions in the future”.

Other costs result from the EU Emissions Trading System and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, known as Corsia.

The Environmental Cost Surcharge, which starts at €1, 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 exact amount payable is shown on the Lufthansa Group Airlines’ booking pages in the price details.

Lufthansa Group said it “will not be able to bear the successively increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements in the coming years on its own”, adding: “Part of these expected costs for the year 2025 are now to be covered by the new Environmental Cost Surcharge.”

The European airline industry aims for net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. By 2030, Lufthansa aims to halve its net CO₂ emissions compared to 2019 through reduction and compensation measures.