Lufthansa to charge up to €72 a flight to cover clean fuel costs

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe’s biggest airline group, will introduce a surcharge of up to €72 ($77) per flight next year to cover the rising costs of alternative fuels needed to lower aircraft emissions.

The added levies apply to all departures from the European Union, the UK, Norway and Switzerland, from Jan. 1, the company said in a statement Tuesday. They will start at €1, with the exact amount dependent on the route and fare. 

The new fees coincide with EU regulations that require airlines to use at least 2% of sustainable aviation fuels starting in 2025. Lufthansa said it can’t bear the costs on its own. In 2022, rival Air France-KLM instituted a surcharge of up to €24 euros on flights from France and the Netherlands. 

The airline industry has targeted reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a goal that relies on a massive scaling up of so-called sustainable aviation fuels, which are typically made from plant or waste matter. 

Aviation is one of the toughest industries to decarbonize, and the costs, estimated to run into the trillions, are likely to be passed on to customers. While Europe has introduced mandates that increase gradually over coming decades, the US has so far relied on incentives to generate more SAF production.

A number of carriers, including United Airlines Holdings Inc., EasyJet Plc and Lufthansa itself, which also owns Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, have previously introduced voluntary fees to cover costs such as SAFs or carbon offsets.