Environmental surcharge: Lufthansa flights up to 72€ more expensive

Starting January 1, Lufthansa will impose an environmental surcharge on flights departing from Europe. The surcharge ranges from 1 to 72 euros, depending on distance and travel class. For subsidiary Brussels Airlines, the environmental surcharge will be a maximum of 36 euros.

“This surcharge is intended to cover part of the ever-increasing additional costs resulting from environmental regulations,” the airline group said in June when it announced the extra cost. The airline refers to the EU obligation to add more sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to traditional kerosene from 2025. SAF, however, is much more expensive.

Adjustments to the EU’s emissions trading system (EU ETS) also play a role. The Environmental Cost Surcharge applies to all passengers departing from the 27 EU countries, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland.

Three new A320neo for Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines will also deploy three additional A320neo aircraft. by summer 2026. The new aircraft use less fuel, emit up to 20% less CO2, and are 50% quieter than previous-generation aircraft. With these new aircraft, Brussels Airlines, which received its first A320neo in November 2023, will have eight such aircraft in service.

According to a recent study by the German NGO Atmosfair, aviation greening has been slower since the COVID-19 crisis. Still, according to the same study, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa are also limping behind.

Lufthansa aims to be CO2 neutral by 2050 and halve its CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2019.