Lufthansa announced today it is integrating the option of CO2-neutral flying into its booking process for passengers, providing a series of offerings for customers to offset the emissions impact of their flights.

The announcement comes as the aviation industry is facing increasing scrutiny as a significant source of GHG emissions, responsible for 2-3% of global emissions, with that figure set to rise dramatically over the coming decades if no action is taken. In March this year, investor engagement network Climate Action 100+ outlined a series of expectations for airlines to follow in order to align with the IEA’s 2050 net zero scenario, including commitments to ramp the use of sustainable aviation fuels and to limit the growth in air travel overall.

Under the new initiative, passengers booking flights through the Lufthansa website are offered 3 options for adding emissions offsetting to their ticket purchase, funding the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), and climate protection projects facilitated by non-profit organizations myclimate, or a combination of both.

While Lufthansa has provided opportunities for passengers to compensate for the emissions impact of their flights, the airline aims to ramp the use of these offerings with the integration of the offers into the booking process.

The company aims to roll out the service onto the booking portals of the Lufthansa Group Airlines, including Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and SWISS in the coming months, and also plans to make it available for bookings performed on mobile devices. The airline stated that it looks to offer significantly more offers for sustainable travel over the next few years.

Christina Foerster, Board Member for Customer, IT & Corporate Responsibility at the Lufthansa Group, said:

“We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to save CO2. Because people not only want to fly and discover the world – they also want to protect it at the same time. This offer makes an important contribution to this. I am convinced that we will inspire more and more passengers to travel sustainably.”