Photo: HEATHROW AIRPORT London Heathrow Airport is raising the bar for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use by 2026, aiming to reach 5.6% of all fuel at the airport. This is 2% above the UK government target of 3.6% for that year.
The airport will make over £80 million (more than $100 million) available to airlines to help narrow the price gap between petroleum-based jet fuel and SAF. If the target is met, approximately 350,000 tonnes of SAF will be fuelled in 2026.
SAF fuels, produced from various sources and an alternative to traditional jet fuel, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 70% on average. Heathrow estimates that the planned scale of use in 2026 could reduce carbon emissions by around 600,000 tonnes. To put that into perspective, this is equivalent to the emissions from over 950,000 economy-class passengers flying from London to New York's JFK Airport.
London Heathrow Airport. Photo: ShutterstockAt the same time, the field is setting a long-term goal that by 2030 the SAF rate will be 11% of all fuels, exceeding the British government target of 10% by the end of the decade, and different from the European target.