TAP supports the scenario of charging an environmental fee to its passengers to compensate for the additional costs that the incorporation of SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) will entail in the supply of its fleet from next year.
This is a possible compensation model for a fuel that currently costs between three and four times more than the aircraft used by the aeronautical industry, according to the administrator of TAP’s commercial and revenue department, Mário Cruz, during a debate at the congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies (APAVT) which is being held in Huelva until Saturday.
This is a solution that some companies such as Lufthansa have used, but TAP has not yet defined how it will finance this additional cost. The German company already charges an environmental surcharge on tickets issued for flights departing from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway starting in January 2025. This rate varies between 1 euro and 72 euros.
Questioned by the Observer after the panel, Mário Cruz indicated that TAP is still looking for a SAF supplier, so it does not yet have a forecast on the increase in costs it will have to bear. By 2025, an incorporation of 2% of the total fuel consumed is expected. Fuel costs, including CO2 licenses, are TAP’s largest operating cost and in the first six months of the year amounted to more than €500 million.
By European imposition, airlines will have to incorporate up to 10% of SAF by 2030, a standard that places the aviation sector within the obligations to reduce carbon emissions.
The SAF issue arose within the framework of the discussion on the sustainability of airlines, with Mário Cruz pointing out that the most important investment that TAP is making in this matter is the renewal of the fleet of Neo Airbus aircraft that consume less fuel and produce less CO2.
Source: Observadora
