KLM tells District Court of Amsterdam it will scrap ‘Fly Responsibly’ campaign

In the Netherlands, Dutch airline KLM told the District Court of Amsterdam that it would scrap its advertising campaign telling customers to ‘Fly Responsibly’, after a lawsuit accused the company of greenwashing.

The ad campaign was targeted by legal action brought by Dutch campaigners Fossielvrij, challenging the legality of the airline’s advertising under EU consumer law. The lawsuit is the first against aviation industry greenwashing and is supported by ClientEarth and Reclame Fossielvrij.

Despite confirming it would pull its ‘Fly Responsibly’ marketing, KLM offered no commitments about future advertising. The airline also maintains its ‘carbon offsetting’ offers, which the lawsuit argues give customers the false impression that they can reduce the impact of their flight by funding reforestation projects or the airline’s costs when it buys small amounts of biofuels.