Brussels, 6 February, 2025
(e-translated)
The associations of the German and French aviation industry, BDL and FNAM, presented a report to the EU Commission this Thursday in Brussels that sets out solutions for fair competition and more climate protection in air travel. The independent study was conducted by the internationally recognized consulting firm Steer. In essence, Steer proposes two models with which the significant additional costs for the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) can be distributed to all airlines in a competition-neutral way: A SAF levy on all flights departing from an EU airport to the final destination – or a ticket surcharge only for travel with a transfer at a hub outside the European Union.
In the opinion of the two aviation associations, these proposals are suitable for compensating for massive distortions of competition on flights, especially from Europe to Asia and Africa. After North America, Asia is the second largest destination for long-haul flights from Europe and is therefore of great importance for the European aviation industry.
“In order for us to be able to advance climate protection in the long term, we need economically healthy companies,” says FNAM Managing Director Laurent Timsit. “This is the only way to finance many billions of euros in investments in efficient aircraft of the latest generation and sustainable aviation fuels every year. This can only succeed if we have fair competitive conditions for European airlines in Europe, a level playing field. The solutions identified in the study reflect the spirit of the Clean Industrial Deal: to reconcile decarbonisation and competitiveness.”
The background to the Steer report is the SAF blending quota introduced this year for all take-offs at EU airports as a central component on the way to CO2-neutral flying in 2050. “The aviation industry in Germany and France is expressly committed to the goals of the EU climate protection package ‘Fit for 55’ and the associated climate protection instruments such as SAF blending,” says BDL Managing Director Dr. Joachim Lang. “The rules of the ‘ReFuelEU Aviation’ regulation on the use of sustainable fuels do not currently apply to everyone to the same extent. Airlines from third countries such as Turkey, Dubai or Qatar can offer tickets at significantly lower prices, especially between Europe, Asia and Africa.”
Since the beginning of the year, a SAF admixture of initially 2 percent to kerosene has been prescribed. By 2030, the quota will initially increase to 6 percent SAF blending, of which 1.2 percent will be e-fuels (synthetic PtL fuels). In 2050, sustainable fuels are expected to account for 70 percent, half of which will be e-fuels.
However, SAF has so far been very scarce and three to five times more expensive than conventional kerosene. While the high additional costs of around 2000 euros per tonne of SAF on direct flights from EU hubs such as Paris or Frankfurt, for example to Hong Kong or Singapore, are incurred for the full route and tickets become considerably more expensive over the years as the blending rate increases, this only applies to the first one in the case of a transfer at a hub outside the EU such as in Istanbul, Doha or Dubai according to the previous regulations of “ReFuelEU”. much shorter flight. Compared to today’s price level, an economy ticket with an EU airline, for example to Hong Kong, would increase in price by up to 70 percent by 2050 – but only by less than 10 percent for competitors from third countries.
Here, the aviation associations complain about a massive distortion of competition to the detriment of the European aviation industry. This endangers jobs and value creation in the European Union. “Emissions are only shifted to other regions of the world and the European aviation industry is severely weakened. That cannot be in the interest of a strong Europe,” Timsit noted.
In essence, Steer proposes these measures:
- A SAF levy would be a fee for all passengers departing from EU airports. This would be levied as a surcharge on the flight tickets. The revenues will be used to compensate for the additional costs of SAF compared to conventional kerosene for all flights departing from an EU airport. The fee would apply to the passenger’s entire itinerary to the final destination, regardless of whether or not a connecting flight is used via a hub outside the EU.
- The SAF Rebalancing Fee (SRC) would also be a ticket surcharge, but it would only be charged for passenger routes where a leg of the route is not subject to the SAF requirements of the ReFuelEU Regulation (e.g. for connecting flights outside the EU by non-EU airlines). The revenues from this would be much lower and would be used for measures to decarbonise EU aviation.
- In addition, extending the free allocation of emission allowances for the use of SAF (“SAF allowances”) beyond 2030 and increasing the free allocation until 2030 could help to reduce the price difference between SAF and kerosene and thus mitigate distortions of competition.
“BDL and FNAM call on the European Commission to end the distortions of competition caused by ‘ReFuelEU Aviation’ now and thus strengthen climate protection and European industry in the long term – and not wait for the review process planned for 2027,” Dr. Lang stressed. Therefore, the EU Commission should talk to the aviation industry on the basis of the Steer report about measures that combine climate protection with fair competitive conditions. In any case, a European SAF levy should replace all existing national aviation taxes.
In addition, the EU should advocate for a global scaling of SAF and for an expansion of the international climate protection instrument CORSIA. The instrument of the UN aviation organization ICAO can contribute most effectively to climate protection through its global impact and at the same time create fair competitive conditions. “It is crucial to act now to achieve the decarbonisation targets and to ensure the competitiveness of the European economy in the long term,” is the joint appeal of the top representatives of BDL and FNAM to the new EU Commission.
Read the report
The full report can be downloaded here.
Source – BDL (German version)