A prominent EU airline has implemented a substantial 'environmental surcharge'.

Germany's flagship airline, Lufthansa, has unveiled a surcharge of up to €72 ($77) per plane ticket to offset the expenses of complying with new EU regulations mandating the use of more expensive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

According to a statement released this week, the surcharge will be applicable to all tickets issued by June 26, with departures scheduled from January 1, 2025 onwards.

On short and medium-haul flights, economy class fares will increase by up to €5, while business class fares will see a rise of €7, as reported to Reuters by Lufthansa. For long-haul flights, the surcharge for business class will range from €18 to €36, and first class customers could face an additional charge of up to €72.

This additional cost will apply to flights departing from any of the EU's 27 member states, as well as the UK, Norway, and Switzerland. Lufthansa Group, which encompasses airlines such as Lufthansa, Eurowings, Swiss, Edelweiss Air, and Austrian Airlines, will enforce the surcharge across its operations.

Lufthansa clarified, "The surcharge aims to cover a portion of the escalating additional costs resulting from regulatory environmental requirements."

Under the new EU regulations, fuel suppliers must ensure that 2% of fuel at EU airports is SAF by 2025, increasing to 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050. However, industry experts caution that these measures aimed at reducing aviation emissions could lead to higher costs for passengers.

In January 2022, Air France-KLM became the first EU airline to introduce an extra biofuel charge on tickets, with increases of up to €12 for business fares and up to €4 for economy fares. Sources suggest that Air France-KLM is contemplating similar measures to those of Lufthansa, potentially indicating further rises in charges.