Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, will not introduce additional fees on tickets of passengers to and from Europe to offset the European Union carbon emission costs levied on all airlines operating in Europe as part of the European Emission Trading Scheme according to a statement.
The Ethiopian airline is in the process of modernizing its fleet changing over to aircraft with less emissions said the statement.
The Emission Trading Scheme has been effective as of the 1st day of the year and aims to protect the climate by requiring airlines flying to and from any destination in Europe to buy certificates for the carbon dioxide they emit.
Airlines that refuse to comply with the scheme will be finned and be prohibited from landing at European airports.
The scheme has been criticized by the African Airlines Association as well as airlines from Russia, India and the USA.
China announced that its airlines will not pay the new fees because the scheme is against international law. It is estimated that the European scheme will cost Chinese airlines about 120 million dollars in just the first year with the amount potentially tripling in 2020 according to the China Air Transport Association.
