On Tuesday 30 April, the European Commission announced that it had informed around 20 airlines of the irregularity of some of their practices, in particular claims that the CO2 emissions caused by a flight could be offset by climate projects or by the use of sustainable fuels, to which consumers could contribute by paying additional charges.
In the Commission’s view, this allegation is in direct breach of European consumer law, in particular the directive concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market.
This decision follows an alert sent in June 2023 by the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and consumer organisations from 19 Member States, which originally targeted 17 airlines: Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air.
The European Commission authorities have asked the companies to provide a response within 30 days and to specify whether these claims can be supported by solid scientific evidence. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)