December 6, 2024, 6:18 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Flying is the most climate-damaging form of transportation. According to a survey by the German climate protection organization Atmosfair, global passenger air traffic recently missed its self-imposed climate targets once again. The “Atmosfair Airline Index 2024” (AAI) compared the more than 200 largest airlines worldwide and assessed their CO₂ efficiency. Low-cost airlines were also scrutinized. TRAVELBOOK shows the results.
The Atmosfair Airline Index (AAI) aims to provide travelers with a clear comparison of airlines’ sustainability, helping them make informed choices for eco-friendlier travel. In the ranking, which the German climate protection organization Atmosfair presented on Thursday as part of the World Climate Conference in Baku (COP29), each airline can receive between 0 and 100 efficiency points for short, medium, and long-haul flights. Low-cost airlines are rated in a separate class in the AAI. The index is based on an airline’s CO₂ emissions per kilometer and passenger on all routes flown, according to the Atmosfair press release.
Overview
Airlines and Climate Protection? Much is Still Missing!
The experts’ conclusion is once again sobering. In the first year after the pandemic, airlines had only slightly improved their CO₂ efficiency in 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019. Since then, global efficiency has only improved by 6 percent, or 1.4 percent annually. In order to achieve the global climate targets and stop the rise in CO₂ emissions despite increasing flight volumes, an annual increase in efficiency of at least 4 percent would be necessary. According to the study, this is the first time that airlines have failed to meet the ICAO’s climate target of a 2 percent annual increase in CO₂ efficiency.
According to the climate protection organization, fleet modernization and optimization of aircraft types to route profiles have slowed down. “Although air traffic has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, resulting in CO₂ emissions that are around 10 percent lower than in 2019, the pace of climate-focused progress in aviation is not sufficient,” the press release states. According to the climate organization, the key to increasing efficiency is modern aircraft types that can achieve values of less than 3.5 liters of kerosene per passenger per 100 kilometers on long-haul routes.
Renewable kerosene from used cooking fats, for example, still hardly plays a role. Only Air France has been able to move up two places in Atmosfair’s climate ranking by using bio-kerosene.
“A climate turnaround in aviation is long overdue,” emphasized Dietrich Brockhagen, Managing Director of Atmosfair. “Our data on CO₂ efficiency and projections for synthetic, CO₂-neutral fuels show that the industry is acting too slowly when it comes to climate protection.”
The “Most Climate-Friendly” Airlines, According to the Ranking
In the “Airline Index 2024”, once again, not a single airline achieved the best efficiency class A. Only two airlines achieved the second-best efficiency class B for climate protection. TUIfly Netherlands performed best in the overall ranking with 85.8 efficiency points, closely followed by Starlux from Taiwan (85.3 points). A total of 24 airlines achieved efficiency class C – but none from Germany.
An overview of places 1 to 10
| Rank | Airline | Country | Efficiency scores | Efficiency class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TUIfly Netherlands | the Netherlands | 85,8 | B |
| 2 | Starlux | Taiwan | 85,3 | B |
| 3 | Biman Bangladesh Airlines | Bangladesh | 83,5 | C |
| 4 | LATAM Airlines Group | Chile | 82,3 | C |
| 5 | Vietnam Airlines | Vietnam | 80,3 | C |
| 6 | Ethiopian Airlines | Ethiopia | 80,1 | C |
| 7 | Southwind | Turkey | 80,0 | C |
| 8 | TUI Airlines | UK | 79,5 | C |
| 9 | Caribbean Airlines | Trinidad and Tobago | 79,4 | C |
| 10 | Etihad Airways | United Arab Emirates | 78,5 | C |
German Airlines Fall Behind in the Climate Protection Ranking
According to the report, the CO₂ efficiency of German airlines Lufthansa, Condor, and TUIfly has stagnated compared to pre-pandemic levels. Lufthansa even slipped significantly from 66th to 97th place compared to the last ranking published in 2018 and is in the second-worst efficiency class F. Condor dropped from 9th to 35th place and is in class D, while TUIfly fell from 4th to 14th place (class C).
The 10 Losers in the “Atmosfair Airline Index 2024”
The following ten airlines performed worst overall in the “Atmosfair Airline Index 2024”:
| Rank | Airline | Country | Efficiency scores | Efficiency class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 119 | Air Niugini | Papua New Guinea | 23,2 | |
| 118 | Air Peace | Nigeria | 25,3 | |
| 117 | Mahan Air | Iran | 25,6 | |
| 116 | Surinam Airways | Suriname | 34,5 | |
| 115 | TAAG Angola Airlines | Angola | 36,9 | |
| 114 | Iran Air | Iran | 37,5 | |
| 113 | Garuda Indonesia | Indonesia | 39,1 | |
| 112 | Singapore Airlines | Singapore | 43,0 | |
| 111 | Boliviana de Aviación | Bolivia | 44,2 | |
| 110 | Air Algérie | Algeria | 47,1 |
It may come as a surprise that Singapore Airlines, often featured on prestigious lists like those of Skytrax and airlineratings.com, holds the third-worst position for climate impact. This serves as a reminder that excellent service and punctuality do not necessarily equate to sustainability, highlighting a significant area for improvement.
Low-Cost Airlines Considered Separately
The AAI assesses low-cost airlines in a distinct category due to their tendency to leverage subsidies for lower ticket prices, resulting in increased flight distances and corresponding emissions. While four low-cost airlines achieve efficiency class B, most fall into classes C and D.
| Airlines | Efficiency class |
|---|---|
| / | A |
| Frontier Airlines, IndiGo Air, Wizz Air, Wizz Air Malta | B |
| AirAsia, Allegiant Air, Azul Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Easyjet, Flair Airlines, Flynas, GOL Linhas Aereas, Jetstar Airways, Jetstar Asia, Lion Air, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair, Scoot, Smartavia, SpiceJet, Spirit Airlines, Spring Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, T’way Air, Thai AirAsia, Transavia, Volaris, Vuela El Salvador, Vueling Airlines, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi | C |
| Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, Citilink Indonesia, Eurowings, Jazeera Airways, Jin Air, Pegasus Airlines, SalamAir, Southwest Airlines, Sunwing Airlines, VietJet Air, Westjet | D |
| Air Arabia, Flydubai, JetBlue Airways Corporation, Jetsmart, Thai Vietjet Air | E |
| / | F |
| / | G |
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What the Paris Agreement says
The Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 requires CO₂ emissions worldwide to peak before 2030 in order to achieve the 1.5 degree target, and to be reduced quickly and significantly thereafter. Air traffic is not directly regulated in the agreement. In 2010, the ICAO decided that fuel and therefore CO₂ efficiency should increase by two percent annually. Progress on protecting against global warming is currently being negotiated at the World Climate Conference in Baku.
Content includes material from Reuters.