Air France, its Dutch arm KLM, Norwegian and some Lufthansa Group airlines were among 20 carriers reporting on May 2 that they were under investigation by the European Union for potential greenwashing, according to Euractiv.
The EU stated that airlines needed to clarify the extent to which claims to tackle carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft could be backed up by convincing scientific evidence.
Lufthansa Group airlines under investigation included Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Air Dolomiti and Eurowings, the group announced on Thursday. An Air France-KLM spokesperson confirmed that the group was also under investigation.
Industry group Airlines for Europe (A4E) stated that it recognised the importance of explicit information on sustainability, but current rules in the EU “vary significantly between countries and are still evolving.” The bloc also indicated that it would not disclose the names of all airlines while the investigation was at a preliminary stage.
However, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), which warned the EU about possible greenwashing, claimed that it was targeting the following 17 airlines in its complaint: Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air.
It remains unclear how closely the BEUC list corresponds to the EU list, which includes three other airlines.
