New increases in airline tickets are arriving. From January 2025, XNUMX i prices they will suffer new increases, and the root cause is linked to climate. Or, more precisely, to climate tax. The new European regulations for the reduction of harmful emissions into the air, in fact, will lead to an increase in airline ticket prices of at least 1% next year. This is because from 2025 all flights departing from an airport in the 27 countries of the European Union (but also from the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway) will be obliged to use a minimum share of sustainable fuel for aviation (SAF). And since the green change, although necessary to reduce the environmental impact, involves considerable costs, the consequences will also fall on passengers' pockets.
The additional fee will vary based on the length of the route travelled, with an increase between 1 and 72 euros. The first company to announce the surcharge is Lufthansa, but similar announcements are expected from other airlines in the coming days.
Airline tickets: Lufthansa opens the dance for price increases
Lufthansa it is therefore the first airline to increase the price of tickets for next year. From 26 June 2024, tickets for flights scheduled from 1 January 2025 will be subject to a surcharge.
“The Lufthansa Group is introducing an environmental tax" it is read in the company note “the tax is intended for cover part of the additional costs constantly increasing due to environmental regulatory requirements. These include the mandatory blending quota initially of two percent for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Saf) for departures from European Union countries starting from 1 January 2025, the adjustments to the EU Emissions Trading System (Eu Ets) as well as other regulatory environmental costs such as the Carbon Emissions Compensation and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia)”.
“Every year,” explains Lufhtansa, “the Group invests billions in new technologies and collaborates with partners on innovations that help make flying more sustainable step by step and promote the large-scale expansion of key technologies beyond the Lufthansa Group. Furthermore, the Lufthansa Group has actively supported global climate and weather research for many years. However, the airline group - concludes the company - you will not be able to cover the additional costs on your own constantly increasing resulting from regulatory requirements in the years to come. Part of these projected costs for 2025 will be now covered by the new environmental tax.
Lufthansa has long complained about the additional costs imposed on European airlines by EU regulations and national taxes. In a recent document, the group stated that "a flight from Madrid to Shanghai with a stopover in Frankfurt will cost around 220 euros more in 2035", compared to an increase of just 40 euros for the same trip taken with a non-European airline via Istanbul.
The EU's zero emissions plan
At community level, the European Union has established ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the aim of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. An intermediate stage envisages a reduction of 55% by 2030. To contribute to these objectives, from 2025 all flights departing from EU airports will be obliged to use a minimum quota of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This requirement falls within theReFuelEU Aviation initiative, aimed at decarbonising the aviation sector.
What is ReFuelEu and what does it involve
THEReFuelEU Aviation initiative, an integral part of the EU's “Ready for 55%” package, aims to increase the supply and demand of sustainable fuels for aviation. These fuels produce fewer CO2 emissions than kerosene derived from fossil fuels and ensure a level playing field in the EU aviation market.
The new regulation includes that i fuel suppliers for aviation they will have to ensure that all fuel is available at EU airports contains a minimum share of sustainable fuels (Saf) starting from 2025 and synthetic fuels from 2030. The minimum percentages will increase progressively until 2050:
- 2% of Saf from 2025
- 6% in 2030
- 20% in 2035
- 34% in 2040
- 42% in 2045
- 70% in 2050
For the synthetic fuels (e-kerosene), the shares will be 1,2% in 2030 until reaching 35% in 2050.
They will be admitted certified biofuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin (including renewable hydrogen) and fuels derived from recycled carbon that comply with the sustainability criteria of the Renewable Energy Directive. Up to 70% of these fuels can be used, with the exclusion of biofuels obtained from food and fodder crops.
The green transition will increase costs
However, the transition to sustainable fuels will not be painless and will involve high costs. It is estimated that the energy transition in the European aviation sector will require investment additional for beyond 800 billion euros, bringing overall spending to almost 1.900 billion euros. An increase in operating costs which will inevitably translate into an increase in airline ticket prices. But the EU continues and underlines the importance of the energy transition also for air travel: "currently, aviation depends almost exclusively on fossil fuels" explains the EU “and a single round-trip flight from Lisbon to New York yields equivalent emissions to those generated by heating a house for an entire year. The new rules provide for a significant increase in the use of sustainable fuels in the aviation sector, thus contributing to the overall reduction of EU emissions."
