DALLAS — The International Air Transport Association (IATA), responsible for creating and implementing global commercial aviation standards, has announced in a yearly report that the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has experienced a 200% increase compared to the previous year.

In 2022, 450 million liters of SAF were produced and distributed to airlines around the world for use on commercial passenger and cargo flights. The goal is to produce 30 billion liters by 2030 as part of the industry's roadmap to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

During the 41st Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in October 2022, the Director General of IATA, Willie Walsh, also took part in the event by expressing the current year's results and the association's goals for the next decade.

“There was at least triple the amount of SAF in the market in 2022 than in 2021. If more was available, it would have been purchased...Governments, who now share the same 2050 net zero goal, need to put in place comprehensive production incentives for SAF. It is what they did to successfully transition economies to renewable sources of electricity. And it is what aviation needs to decarbonize.”

Willie Walsh, IATA Director General

SAF has been used to operate over 450,000 commercial flights to date. The growing number of operators signing agreements with SAF producers also sends a clear sign to the market that the novel jet fuel is needed in larger quantities to support the high demand.

Airline Cooperation With the Environment

Thanks to recent studies and evidence about climate change and global warming, airlines have been slowly changing priorities in their operations, sometimes putting carbon emissions and sustainable fuel ahead of other goals.

Various global airline campaigns regarding SAF that are functioning right now involve designing dedicated paint schemes for aircraft promoting the message, special programs for passengers to reduce carbon emissions, and also calls for action to other organizations present in commercial aviation.

The most recent and influential of them was presented by a commission of pilots from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL), Transavia Holland (HV), and Easyjet Europe (U2), which presented a statement to the European Union demanding the implementation of updated navigation facilities that would potentially reduce flight time and distance, and with that, fuel burn.

https://airwaysmag.com/klm-pilots-single-european-sky/

Featured image: First United 100% Sustainable Air Fuel flight: United Airlines