UK Government release aviation SAF plan to support growth of British aviation sector........

SAF industry estimated to boost the economy by £1.8 billion and create more than 10,000 jobs across the UK by 2030

The UK Department for Transport government's new Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate sets new targets to ensure that 10% of all jet fuel in aircraft taking off from the UK comes from sustainable sources by 2030. 

The UK’s SAF mandate will come into force in January 2025 and be one of the first in the world to be put into law, subject to approval by parliament. The move follows the world’s first commercial 100% SAF transatlantic flight taking off from Heathrow in November – backed by up to £1 million in government investment.

The government has committed to ambitious but achievable targets that will see around 1.2 million tonnes of SAF supplied to the UK airline industry each year – enough to circle the globe 3,000 times.  The plans are good for aviation, the environment and for the UK overall with the SAF industry estimated to add over £1.8 billion to the economy and create over 10,000 jobs across the country. 

£135 million of funding was recently allocated through the Advanced Fuels Fund, with the aim of supporting the growth of 13 groundbreaking SAF projects across the UK. 

It is recognised that SAF is likely to be more expensive than traditional jet fuel, at least in the immediate term, the plan ensures decarbonisation doesn’t come at the expense of consumers as the rationing of flights through ‘demand management’ is ruled out in the plan. 

The plan includes a review mechanism to help manage prices and minimise the impact on ticket fares for passengers. The government also has the power to change key limits within the mandate to block higher price rises in the case of SAF shortages – keeping the impact on consumers to a minimum. 

Providing sufficient SAF is available, any increases in air fares as a result of SAF will fall well within the range of usual fluctuations in prices we see every year and the government have plans in place to prevent any major hikes.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:      "Sustainable aviation fuel protects the future of UK aviation, the thousands of British jobs that depend on it, and the holidays and business travel flights that we all rely on.

 As part of our plan to grow the economy, the measures announced today will give both UK aviation and the UK SAF industry the certainty they need to keep creating skilled British jobs while giving passengers the freedom to continue travelling by air in a way that’s fit for the future."

SAF produces up to 70% less carbon emissions than the traditional fossil fuels used in most commercial flights. It is made from waste materials or by-products – like household waste, industrial gases or used cooking oil.

AirTanker is the latest airline to join Airlines UK

AirTanker joins Airlines UK

Photo AirTanker

You might not be familiar with the name AirTanker, but you've almost certainly seen at least one of their aircraft flying high in the skies over the UK in recent weeks.  This British airline is perhaps best known for operating the RAF Voyager aircraft.

Since signing a 27-year contract with the MoD in 2008, AirTanker’s primary role has been to ensure the safe and effective operation of the RAF’s fleet of A330 MRTT Voyager aircraft, with responsibilities ranging from aircraft delivery and fleet management to crew training and a full maintenance capability.

As well as supporting the Voyager military operation, AirTanker is a civil airline and operates the South Atlantic Air Bridge, which provides a vital scheduled connection between the UK and the Falkland Islands. AirTanker has also continued to expand its commercial leasing business, operating a number of Airbus A330-200 aircraft on ad-hoc, damp and wet lease contracts on behalf of other carriers in the UK and Europe.

Photo RAF /Crown Copyright

UK airline industry wants a year long break from air passenger duty tax.

The UK's airline industry wants a year-long break from the government imposed air passenger duty tax or the consequences could be dire, warns industry campaigning body, Airlines UK.

The trade body says without the emergency tax break,  UK airports will lose around 600 routes initially and in 12 months’ time, around 80% of the lost routes will be in the UK regions.  

Yet,  with a 12-month waiver, it could save 45% of the air routes out of the UK that would otherwise be lost due to the impacts of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, a new report has found. In addition, the support could potentially save 8,000 jobs and contribute an additional £7 billion in GVA.

The study carried out by York Aviation and commissioned by Airlines UK, the industry association for UK-registered airlines, shows:

With an emergency 12-month Air Passenger Duty waiver in place, the situation improves with the number of routes that would immediately return at around 35. This grows steadily as the market recovers, with an APD waiver supporting an additional 56 routes by July next year. In other words, by July 2021 it would have saved around 45% of routes that would otherwise be lost;
The APD waiver would boost passenger demand by around 12% over the next 12 months. This equates to around 21 million passengers over the 12 months against a baseline of 170 million passengers.
An APD waiver could potentially save 8,000 jobs over the next 12 months and enable the sector to support an additional £7 billion in GVA. This GVA saving is around 3.3 times greater than the expected revenue from APD over the next 12 months.

Read the full report here.