Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will begin to charge a surcharge to help it reduce its environmental impact.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC’S ENVIRONMENTAL CHARGE
The airline is obliged to use a minimum of 2 percent SAF blended fuel from next year.
It will thus introduce an environmental charge on tickets. This fee is intended to help the airline cover the cost of using sustainable aviation fuel.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Virgin Atlantic will charge the new environmental flight levy on flights departing from the UK.
According to Travel News, the fee will come into place from January next year.
EU SAF QUOTA
Virgin Atlantic is preparing to comply with the EU’s mandatory SAF blend quota, mandating a 2 percent SAF quota for departures from 1 January 2025.
SAF is considerably more expensive than traditional fuel.
Passengers flying with Virgin Atlantic will notice that the price of tickets will thus increase.
ALSO READ: SAF production set to triple in 2024
FEES FROM THE UK
Speaking to The Telegraph, Virgin Atlantic’s Shai Weiss said this charge aims to cover the added cost of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Weiss said the airline would charge passengers up to £24 per flight. However, this amount would only apply to flights departing from the UK.
TRANSPARENCY IN VIRGIN ATLANTIC’S ENVIRONMENTAL CHARGE
Weiss added that the green surcharge was a better way to handle the cost of using Sustainable Aviation Fuel, instead of simply increasing airfares.
“If you do it, you need to do it transparently in the form of something consumers understand.” Weiss said.
EUROPEAN AIRLINES
Virgin is in fact not the only airline that is adopting this initiative. It follows the Lufthansa Group, which also announced this fee on its flights.
In January Lufthansa will also add a similar surcharge to all its flights departing from EU countries as well as the UK, Norway and Switzerland.
