Three Airlines’ Adverts Banned in the UK

A UK watchdog took action by prohibiting three online advertisements from airlines, namely Air France, Etihad Airways, and Lufthansa, citing “misleading” assertions regarding their environmental impact.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated that this decision is part of a broader initiative aimed at addressing climate change and environmental concerns. The regulatory body is intensifying efforts to combat greenwashing, targeting deceptive or misleading statements related to climate issues that are intended to enhance the reputations of companies.

As there was no proof showing the airline’s dedication to environmental protection or sustainable aviation, the ASA contested the advertisement, finding it to be deceptive about the airline’s environmental impact and concluding that travelling with Air France had a negative environmental impact.

Air France-KLM was tasked with making sure that future advertisements do not mislead about their environmental impact, and as a result, the advertisement was banned.

Parallel to this, Lufthansa’s provision of a “fly more sustainably” option was criticized by the ASA. Using sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to offset the remaining 80% of CO2 emissions through contributions to climate protection projects, Lufthansa clarified that this was a reference to their “Green Fares” option on flights within Europe, which supposedly reduced CO2 emissions associated with flying by 20%.

With terms like “Environmental Advocacy” and “Total Peace Of Mind” regarding environmental impact, Etihad Airways faced a similar problem with their advertisement.

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