The flight industry has been angered by an EU ruling that could see the sector brought under the wing of Europe’s emissions trading scheme (ETS). The Air Transport Association and two US carriers had taken a case to the European Court of Justice to challenge EU plans to put international aviation into the scheme.

The EU ETS puts a cap on greenhouse gases by setting companies allowances for the amount of CO2 they can legally emit. Allowances can be bought and sold by firms who need more or who aren’t going to use all of their quota. Air transport groups worry this could be expensive for an industry that already faces rising fuel costs.

A final decision on the matter is expected later this year, but according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 230 airlines including 93% of scheduled international air traffic, the latest result is disappointing.

Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO said: “We support and need positive economic measures as part of our strategy to manage aviation’s emissions. Emissions trading is one possibility. But it must be a global scheme under the leadership of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation).”