Singapore plans to require all departing flights to use a minimum amount of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2026 with passengers set to pay a fixed SAF levy within their ticket price.
Plans unveiled by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), as part of the Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint, include several initiatives designed to “build a SAF ecosystem” in the island state, including a requirement for airlines to use at least 1 per cent SAF from 2026.
CAAS then wants to grow this minimum SAF requirement to between 3 and 5 per cent by 2030 “subject to global developments and the wider availability and adoption of SAF”.
Passengers flying from Singapore will have to pay a SAF levy as part of the plan to “provide cost certainty to airlines and travellers”. This levy will be based on the distance of the flight and class of travel with a passenger flying from Singapore to London in economy set to pay around SG$16 (£9.50) during 2026.
Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s minister for transport, said: “The levy will provide an important demand signal to fuel producers and give them the incentive to invest in new SAF production facilities.
“Singapore’s approach is to enable the aviation sector to achieve both growth and environmental sustainability, so that future generations can continue to enjoy the benefits of flying.
“The Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint demonstrates this balanced approach. The measures were developed after careful study and close consultation with domestic and international stakeholders, and we hope that they will help to catalyse the development of sustainable aviation in the region and around the world.”
SAF, which can be made from a variety of feedstocks including used cooking oil and animal fats, can reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent over the lifecycle of the fuel.
The global aviation industry views the increasing use of SAF as the primary way of reducing emissions and reaching the target of achieving net-zero by 2050.
The EU has already set its own targets for the mandatory use of SAF by airlines, which will start at 2 per cent in 2025 and then rise to 6 per cent in 2030, 20 per cent in 2035 and 70 per cent by 2050.
Earlier this month, European airport and aviation groups urged policymakers in Brussels to go further to ensure the development of a world-leading SAF industry in the region.