Lufthansa to make passengers pay for pollution
Lufthansa has become one of the first airlines to declare that it raise air fares to cover the cost of entering the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme.
Since January 1, all airlines have to pay for the carbon dioxide emissions of any flights taking off or landing within the EU. They will be given free credits to cover the majority of their emissions, but they must buy credits for any additional emissions from other airlines or industries in the ETS.
Lufthansa estimates the cost of entering the ETS to be €130m a year and it said this week it had no choice but to pass the extra cost to passengers through higher air fares.
The cost will be included in Lufthansa's fuel surcharge, which was raised from €3 to €10 on December 15. The airline said this would not immediately increase, but it said the charge would reflect its ETS costs and future fuel price increases.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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