Due to a court ruling, Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings is no longer allowed to advertise so-called “CO2-neutral” flights. German Environmental Aid sued the carrier for, among other things, misleading advertising and won in the first instance.

In recent years, various airlines have tried to give themselves a particularly green look. This also includes trying to collect donations for so-called compensation projects or offering tariffs that already include this. Some Lufthansa Group airlines offer donations for the purchase of SAF as an alternative. However, a particularly large number of travelers do not take part in this “trade of indulgences”. For example, the “Green Fares” of the Lufthansa network airlines are still not selling particularly well.

The lawsuit by Deutsche Umwelthilfe was directed against Eurowings. This was heard before the Cologne Regional Court, which classified the campaign in question as misleading and unfair. According to the court, the donation options offered for compensation projects would not be suitable for actually compensating for the flight's emissions.

“Travel CO2-neutrally. Together we make flying more sustainable: offset CO2 emissions and take off,” advertised Eurowings. It is precisely this statement that has now been banned by the court in the first instance. Deutsche Umwelthilfe sees its opinion that it was a “deceit” confirmed.

Eurowings stated, among other things, that it regretted the verdict. It is pointed out that the legal proceedings relate to the status of 2022 and that the homepage has been revised in the meantime. Nevertheless, the carrier is checking that the judgment can be appealed to the next higher authority.