Ten airlines are deemed to be responsible for 40% of all European emissions. The top three? Ryanair, Lufthansa and British Airways. Photo: Shutterstock

Ten airlines are deemed to be responsible for 40% of all European emissions. The top three? Ryanair, Lufthansa and British Airways. Photo: Shutterstock

Flight patronage in Europe has returned to pre-covid levels--and so have CO2 emissions. According to the latest analysis by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, flights departing from Europe emitted almost as much carbon dioxide in 2024 as they did before the pandemic. They are also causing a loss of revenue due to an emissions trading scheme deemed insufficient.

By 2024, the European aviation sector has almost returned to its pre-pandemic levels, with 96% of flights operated. CO2 emissions have also returned to their pre-covid levels: 98% of emissions, or 187.6m tonnes of CO2 for the 8.4m aircraft that took off from Europe. For intra-European flights, pre-pandemic levels were even exceeded.

In detail, ten airlines are deemed responsible for 40% of all European emissions. The top three were Ryanair (16.2m tonnes of CO2), Lufthansa (10 MT CO2) and British Airways (8.9 MT CO2).

The European Federation for Transport and Environment also points out that the European carbon market fails to take account of the real cost of these emissions. For example, 70% of aviation CO2 emissions remained unpriced in 2024.

In fact, earlier this month, the director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) warned--in an interview with Reuters--that the aviation industry was lagging behind in terms of net zero emissions and that the interim target of a 5% reduction in emissions by 2030 was, in his view, unattainable.

The federation points to another problem: loopholes in aviation climate legislation. For example, according to the federation, the route with the highest CO2 emissions was London-New York. This route is not subject to carbon market pricing. This is because European airlines are currently subject to carbon markets that include a large number of exemptions. In other words, they only pay for emissions from flights within the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, which means that long-haul flights--the most polluting--are exempt from carbon pricing.

Green aviation: a fantasy?

The head of the federation’s aviation policy, Krisztina Hencz, does not mince her words. “Aviation emissions are spiralling out of control. To add insult to injury, the sector continues to dodge the true cost of its pollution, making a mockery of airlines’ pledges to build back greener after covid. If Europe continues down this path, ‘green’ aviation will remain a figment of people’s imaginations. Next year’s review of EU carbon markets is a chance to rectify a loophole in the current legislation and ensure airlines pay for the true cost of their pollution.”

For their part, airline CEOs are mostly arguing in favour of the emissions offset scheme, which would cost them 23 times less, says the federation.

The European Union had committed to reviewing its emissions trading scheme. Extending the emissions trading scheme could generate billions of euros for the green transition, in addition to the climate benefits. The federation estimates, for example, that it could have generated €7.5bn more in 2024 if emissions from outside Europe had been priced in.

This article was originally published in .

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