Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr has warned that newly adopted EU rules to increase the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are not feasible based on current production standards.

The comments from the head of Europe’s largest airline group come a day after the European Parliament approved the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation, which will require airlines to increase their SAF usage for flights departing from EU airports (known as the blending mandate) from 2025.

As per the regulation, which EU countries must now approve before it can pass into law, airlines must ensure that 2 per cent of fuel is from sustainable sources in 2025. The target will then increase to 6 per cent in 2030, 20 per cent in 2035 and then 70 per cent by 2050.

But Spohr said: “From today’s point of view, it won’t work to have even the availability of the quantities that are demanded of us, not to mention the high costs that in the end the passenger will have to bear,” according to a Reuters report.

The airline boss previously warned that the EU’s SAF blending mandate will push up fares. The group has also recently joined forces with the HCS Group to produce and supply SAF in Germany, with plans to begin in 2026.