European Commission endorses Air France-KLM's cooperation with EASA on EU Flight Emissions Label

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Air France-KLM signed an agreement to launch the airline group's preparations to partner on the EU Flight Emissions Label (FEL). Air France-KLM is working with EASA to implement the label as a means to enhance communication on the decarbonization strategy to passengers, to secure a competitive edge in the industry.

The airline group signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with EASA, thereby providing a structured framework for Air France and KLM to assess and test the end-to-end digital FEL portal and receive reliable information from EASA about the two airlines' flight emissions data before formally participating in the FEL under Regulation (EU) 2024/3170. The group will also benefit from early access to the label's results and methodologies, as well as reporting and validation processes.

Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, stated: "I warmly welcome the decision by Air France and KLM to become the first airlines to join the EU Flight Emissions Label. This decisive step turns their commitment to decarbonisation into concrete action, reinforcing fair competition, transparency, and trust. It also marks a key milestone in the rollout of the EU Flight Emissions Label and ReFuelEU Aviation, while helping to accelerate the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels to cut flight emissions. I encourage other airlines to join this initiative, driving a more sustainable and transparent future for European aviation."


The Regulation that introduced the Flight Emissions Label (FEL) was adopted by the European Commission in December 2024 and aims to provide passengers with information on flight-related emissions, enabling them to make informed decisions when booking and comparing flights. The label will also increase accountability within the aviation sector by establishing a harmonized emissions calculation methodology, data reporting, and emissions display for all airlines in the European Union. Building on a fully digitalized process, FEL will also reduce the administrative burden for the sector.

The FEL provides a framework for airlines to share flight emissions data with passengers. Airlines from both EU and non-EU countries, covered under the scope of Regulation (EU) 2023/2405 "ReFuelEU Aviation", can voluntarily join the FEL. Only airlines that have joined are permitted to display their emissions to passengers in the European Union, in accordance with Article 6(5) of the Regulation. The European Commission and EASA encourage airlines to join the FEL if they want to display flight emissions and use these estimates when, for example, offering sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or other emissions offsets to passengers.

The Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) will support the internal decision-making process within the aircraft operators through a guided onboarding process performed by EASA experts. This will allow the group to have an initial pre-assessment of the label values generated, as well as an indication of the efforts involved. As part of this, Air France-KLM will test the digital channels, including the EASA Flight Emission Portal, the data reporting process, and the administrative effort required for this process.

For its part, Air France-KLM voluntarily agrees to provide emissions-related data under Article 3 FEL to support the assessment and indicative generation of flight emissions under Article 5 FEL. The data submitted will include, as per Article 3 FEL, actual flight performance data, such as aviation fuel consumption and time per flight, average load factors and freight carried, as well as the amount and type of aviation fuels (fossil kerosene and SAF) consumed per airport. This will enable the prospective coverage of emissions labels for upcoming operations.

(article source: European Union Aviation Safety Agency / editor: Anton van Rijsbergen)