Manchester and Stansted have joined forces with London Heathrow and London Gatwick to become the first airports to join the ‘Back British SAF’ campaign.

Launched by RISE – a coalition of 13 airports, airlines and fuel producers – the campaign is urging the UK government to bring forward its Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Revenue Support Mechanism Bill to support a domestic SAF industry.

Ken O’Toole, CEO of Manchester Airports Group (which owns Manchester Stansted and East Midlands airports) said the UK has the “opportunity to create a world leading SAF industry, which will not only accelerate the UK aviation industry’s path to net zero by 2050 but will also stimulate economic growth and create thousands of jobs across the country.”

He added that bringing forward the SAF revenue support mechanism, which currently has no timeline, would give investors the confidence they need to create a “thriving, home grown SAF industry in the UK.”

The UK is recognised as the third biggest aviation sector in the world employing more than 536,000 people. SAF is also acknowledged as being critical to ensuring the global industry achieves its net zero target. A British SAF industry is expected to boost the economy by £1.8 billion by 2030 and generate an additional 60,000 jobs by 2050. “The production of SAF is one of the fastest growing industries on the planet and demand will soon outstrip supply,” underlined a RISE spokesperson. While other regions across the globe, including the EU, the US, the Middle East and Asia Pacific are pushing ahead in implementing measures to attract SAF investors the UK is lagging behind. It needs to “act now or risk losing out altogether,” continued the spokesperson.

London Heathrow CEO, Thomas Woldbye, added that his airport is committed to 11% SAF use at the airport by 2030 but a domestic SAF production industry is integral to making that ambition a reality. “We have proven price mechanisms work with our own SAF incentive scheme at Heathrow and we urge government to bring forward the SAF bill quickly, before it is too late for the UK to benefit from the jobs, growth and energy security a homegrown SAF industry would bring.”

The UK government’s mandate for SAF will come into effect on 1 January 2025. It will start at 2% of total UK jet fuel demand, increasing to 10% in 2030 and then to 22% in 2040.

Image source: London Stansted Airport

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