As the pressure to decarbonise aviation grows, SAF has emerged as a key technology driver for reducing emissions, especially for long-haul flying.
SAF is an alternative to conventional aviation fuels. It has the potential to reduce our industry’s reliance on fossil fuels. While SAF emits similar CO₂ levels during combustion, its lifecycle fossil carbon (CO₂) impact is significantly lower, even 80 % lower than that of fossil jet fuel, as it is produced from non-fossil resources. However, due to its limited availability, the overall impact on the entire sector’s footprint remains small for the moment, but its usage is a positive step forward.
In the coming years, the share of SAF will increase both through regulation and through our voluntary actions. As of 2025, the EU has required that fuel providers mix on average 2% of SAF for flights departing from the Union airports in-scope of ReFuelEU Aviation. In addition to these mandated SAF volumes, we will need to increase the voluntary SAF volumes in order to meet our climate targets.
EU grants Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) allowances for commercial aircraft operators that utilise SAF on routes eligible within the EU ETS. The mechanism support airlines in their transition to more sustainable aviation by mitigating the cost disparity between conventional kerosene and SAF. These allowances provide financial relief by offsetting a portion of the additional costs associated with the use of SAF in place of conventional Jet Fuel, thereby supporting the airline’s ongoing commitment to sustainable aviation and carbon emissions reduction.
There are multiple roadmaps published outlining similar results needed to achieve carbon-neutral flying (IATA Waypoint 2050, A4E destination 2050, WEF SAF as a Pathway to net-zero Aviation and oneworld Path to net-zero Emissions). We need to pull many levers, but the most important one requiring our focus now is sustainable aviation fuel.