Following last month's report where we looked at Asia's 2nd largest aviation market Japan, this month's report turns to Germany, which we last looked at in November 2025.
Please note: As this report is derived from scheduled flight data, emissions linked to certain regions may not fully reflect actual flying activity where significant flight cancellations or operational disruptions have occurred.
Focus market on this month's report: Germany
Key highlights
- Global passenger aviation emissions for September 2026 are estimated at 69 million tonnes of CO2.
- Year-to-date global passenger aviation emissions reached approximately 618 million tonnes of CO2, slightly above 2025 levels (616 million tonnes) but still below the equivalent 2019 level (621 million tonnes).
- 15 of the world's 25 largest aviation emissions markets remained below September 2019 emissions levels in September 2026.
Germany spotlight
Germany remains one of the world's most significant aviation markets, ranking 6th globally for passenger aviation emissions in September 2026 and 9th on a year-to-date basis.
- Passenger-related aviation emissions from Germany were estimated at 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 during September 2026 and 15.7 million tonnes year-to-date, both remaining below pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
- Lufthansa was Germany's largest airline contributor to aviation emissions over the last 12 months, generating approximately 6.68 million tonnes of CO2.
- Among Germany's largest carriers, SunExpress recorded the lowest emissions intensity at 53.7g CO2 per ASK, ahead of Condor Flugdienst at 58.7g CO2 per ASK.
- Frankfurt International Airport was Germany's largest source of aviation emissions, producing 9.76 million tonnes of CO2 over the last 12 months.
- Among Germany's leading airports, Memmingen Airport demonstrated the strongest emissions efficiency at 58.6g CO2 per ASK, closely followed by Cologne Bonn Airport at 60.5g CO2 per ASK.
- Germany's largest low-emissions destination markets over the last 12 months included Greece (57.5g CO2 per ASK), Spain and the Canary Islands (58.6g CO2 per ASK), and Turkey (58.7g CO2 per ASK).
Download this month’s report here
CARE Index
The RDC CARE Index scores any air route, airline and aircraft combination between 0 (worst) and 10 (best) based on fuel burn, seat capacity and load factor, use of sustainable aviation fuel, participation in compliance programmes such as EU ETS, and whether the carrier offsets emissions. It's designed to give both consumers and industry a clear, comparable measure of airline sustainability.
Here are the highest-scoring carriers by region in September 2026:
Europe
- Wizz Air UK 7.8
- TUIfly Nordic 7.6
- Ascend Airways 7.5
- Norra - Nordic Regional Airlines 7.5
- Iberojet 7.4
North America
- Flair Airlines 6.7
- Frontier Airlines 6.7
- Air Transat 6.7
- Volaris 6.5
- Porter Airlines Canada 6.3
Asia
- Myanmar National Airlines 7.7
- Myanmar Airways International 7.2
- UTair Aviation 7.2
- IndiGo 7.0
- Air Premia 6.9
Rest of the World
- FlyGabon 7.9
- Congo Airways 7.3
- Arajet 7.1
- Clic Air S.A. 6.7
- flydubai 6.7
Full CARE Index rankings across all carriers and regions are available in the full report
Our CO2 data which powers our monthly report has been independently audited and verified and is available via our Scope 3 emissions platform, as a dataset, via an API or as part of a subscription to Apex
Our Scope 3 emissions platform has been developed to allow airports to accurately report upon aviation scope 3 emissions and has now been verified against Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) requirements. If you’d like to find out more get in touch with our team today to discover how RDC can provide the insights you need to stay ahead of environmental regulations and improve your sustainability efforts.
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