Virgin Atlantic will add a green tax to airline fares by 2025

By 2025, Virgin Atlantic will begin adding a “green tax” to its flights to help cover the cost of using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

“Prices will have to rise to account for the fact that air travel [SAF] with larger volumes and higher material costs,” said Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, in a recent interview with the British daily newspaper The Telegraph.

The airline joins a growing number of carriers that have recently introduced additional environmental charges, including Lufthansa, Swiss and other airlines within the Lufthansa Group. As of Jan. 1, 2025, passengers on these lines can expect to be charged anywhere between 1 and 72 euros (about $1 to $78) for flights from the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland.

Virgin has not revealed the exact amount of the charge, although there is speculation that it will cost around 40 British pounds (about $52) per flight. The airline is currently expected to start rolling out the fee on some routes within the next 18 months, and it will be fully operational on all routes by 2030.

Flyers are likely to see more environmental fines across the industry in the coming years as more airlines start using SAF, following increased pressure from sustainability advocates and governments.

The EU has challenged airlines flying in its territory to use at least 2% SAF in their jet fuel from 2025. That amount should increase incrementally, too: The amount should be 6% in 2030, 20% in 2035 and 70% in 2050. Similarly, the UK mandated that airlines use a minimum of 2% SAF on their aircraft by 2035 and 10% by 2050.

However, those targets are actually lower than those set by other international airlines, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. By 2030, these companies hope to use 5% to 10% of SAF in their aircraft.

Bottom line

Many companies are adopting SAF to help reduce carbon emissions, and that's good for the environment. Another argument, however, is that this will hit travelers in the pocket and result in higher fares as airlines aim to use more SAF in the future. However, in the long run, the movement towards SAF helps in the fight against climate change.