Flights to cost more as major airline adds new surcharge

Lufthansa Group has announced a new surcharge on all flights that will see costs increase for passengers travelling to and around Europe.

The ‘environmental cost surcharge’ of up to €72 ($115)will apply to all departures on Lufthansa Group flights from the European Union, the UK, Norway and Switzerland from January 1 2025, and includes bookings made from June 26, 2024.

Aimed at covering the rising costs of alternative fuels needed to lower aircraft emissions the amount of the surcharge will vary depending on both the route and the travel class.

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Lufthansa Group, which also includes Swiss Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, said in a statement it “will not be able to bear the successively increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements in the coming years on its own.”

One of those requirements includes EU-mandated measures such as a ‘statutory blending quota’ for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for departures from European Union countries from January 2025.

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As a result the airlines were facing “steadily rising” additional costs.

“Part of these expected costs for the year 2025 are now to be covered by the new Environmental Cost Surcharge,” the statement continued.

It is expected that other airlines across Europe could follow Lufthansa’s lead in passing on this EU-legislated cost of lowering carbon emissions to passengers.

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