A new law requiring airlines to report pollutants to the European Union took effect this month. However, airline industry groups have warned the EU that they are unable to comply because the reporting system has not yet been launched.
In a letter first reported by Reuters and seen by Skift, Airlines for Europe and the German Aviation Association, whose members include Easyjet, IAG, Ryanair, AirFrance, KLM and Lufthansa, urged the EU to delay the new regulations.
Planes not only emit carbon dioxide but also pollutants such as soot, nitrogen oxides, and water vapour, which contribute to global warming.
The new mandate requires the reporting of those pollutants into an EU system called NEATS and airlines have until March next year to submit 2025’s emissions.
“According to assurances, NEATS will enable airlines to fulfill the reporting obligation virtually without having to collect their own data or perform their own calculations, while also allowing them the option to use their own tools,” states the letter, dated December 24, 2024.
“However, it should be emphasized that NEATS is currently unavailable, and there has been no opportunity to develop or approve third-party tools. As a result, airlines are now forced to collect their own data without clarity on how – or at what effort – this data will be transferred to NEATS in the future.”
An European Commission spokesperson told Skift it aimed to launch the system, which is still unavailable, later this year.
“This is a free of charge IT tool that is going to facilitate the process by allowing for the calculation of the non-CO2-effect of each flight,” the spokesperson said.
“Airlines will in any case need to monitor some data to be fed to the tool. This data is already available to airlines either because they already monitor it or because it is available already in existing databases,” the spokesperson said.
Skift’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift’s editorial team.
