DüSSELDORF (dpa-AFX) - According to a ruling by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Düsseldorf, the airline Eurowings misled its customers with advertisements for climate protection measures. The court has prohibited the airline from advertising climate compensation payments in a certain manner (Case No.: I-20 U 38/25). Customers were offered the option to offset their flight with a nine-euro contribution to "high-quality climate protection projects," as the airline described during online booking, according to court documents.

The court found that the advertisement, which included phrases such as "The future of CO2-neutral flying is just one click away," gave consumers the false impression that they could travel climate-neutrally. The panel pointed out that flying releases additional climate-damaging emissions, the existence of which is not generally known to consumers.

Peace of Mind for Consumers?

The judges ruled that the terms CO2-neutral and climate-neutral are used synonymously in everyday language. Therefore, consumers would interpret the advertisement to mean that all climate-damaging emissions from the booked flight--not just CO2--would be offset. The judges stated that the aim of the advertising, to give consumers peace of mind, is undermined by the existence of other, non-compensated emissions.

However, the court found no fault with another advertising passage related to sustainable fuels--the wording in that instance was not misleading.

Challenged Advertising Unacceptable Under New EU Rules

The lawsuit was brought by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv), which had been dismissed in the first instance by the Cologne Regional Court but was partially upheld in the second instance.

The OLG did not allow an appeal, but Eurowings may file a complaint of non-admission with the Federal Court of Justice. The Higher Regional Court also noted that, in light of new EU regulations on "greenwashing," the challenged advertising would be prohibited as of September 2026 anyway--such advertising claims regarding greenhouse gas compensation will then be banned. Thus, even a favorable ruling would not benefit Eurowings in the long run.

21 Airlines Commit to Self-Regulation

Airlines have already recognized that their advertising for climate protection payments as a remedy for passengers' guilty conscience may have gone too far. At the beginning of November, Eurowings and 20 other European airlines pledged to refrain from potentially misleading claims regarding the sustainability of flights in the future.

As the EU Commission announced at the time, the airlines agreed no longer to claim that "the emissions of a specific flight could be neutralized, offset, or directly reduced by consumers' financial contributions to climate protection projects or the use of alternative aviation fuels." Furthermore, the term "sustainable aviation fuel" should only be used with proper clarification, and vague "green language" should be avoided.

Flights place a heavy burden on the environment through greenhouse gases and other emissions. Many airlines offer compensation at the time of booking--often in the form of financial support for climate protection projects such as reforestation. However, critics argue that this system, often referred to as "indulgence trading," does not constitute true compensation, as it does not offset the passenger's actual CO2 emissions but merely contributes to climate protection in general. According to the EU Commission a month ago, this creates the impression among passengers that they are flying climate-neutrally./wdw/DP/mis