By Ilona Wissenbach and Charlotte Van Campenhout
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Air France, its Dutch arm KLM, Norwegian and a number of other Lufthansa Group airways are amongst 20 carriers being investigated by the European Union for potential greenwashing, the businesses stated on Thursday.
The EU stated airways wanted to clarify to what extent claims about tackling plane CO2 emissions – whether or not by offsetting them with local weather tasks or utilizing sustainable fuels – might be substantiated by sound scientific proof.
The Lufthansa Group airways beneath investigation are Brussels Airways, Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airways, Air Dolomiti and Eurowings, the group stated on Thursday, whereas a spokesperson for Air France-KLM confirmed the group was additionally a part of the probe.
Norwegian stated in a reply to a Reuters request: “We obtained the letter, and at the moment are working to familiarize ourselves with the case materials and can reply this throughout the deadline.”
Business group Airways for Europe (A4E) stated in a press release that it recognised the significance of clear details about sustainability, however that present laws within the EU “range considerably between international locations and are nonetheless evolving”.
It’s unclear which different airways are being investigated. The EU has stated it won’t disclose the names whereas investigations are at a preliminary stage.
Nonetheless, the European Client Organisation (BEUC), which alerted the EU to the doable greenwashing, stated it focused the next 17 airways in its criticism: Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian, Brussels Airways, Eurowings, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air.
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TAP didn’t verify it was a part of the probe when contacted by Reuters however referred to a press release by the A4E group of airways issued in response to the EU probe.
The opposite carriers listed by BEUC didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark.
Reuters is searching for remark from the opposite airways.
It isn’t clear how intently BEUC’s record matches the EU’s record, which incorporates three extra airways.
