ETS (Emissions Trading System)
The EU Emissions Trading System requires operators of flights within the European Economic Area, plus flights to Switzerland and the UK, to surrender one allowance for every tonne of CO2 emitted; the UK runs a parallel scheme. Small emitters below 1,000 tonnes a year on non-commercial flights are exempt, but charter operators and larger private flight departments are not, and with allowances trading at €60–€100 a tonne, a two-hour intra-European flight on a midsize jet carries an ETS cost of a few hundred euros that appears in the quote. Free allowances for aviation are being phased out entirely, so the line item will keep growing.