New transport secretary Louise Haigh addressed aviation leaders at the Farnborough International Airshow today, telling them the government is committed to “helping aviation grow sustainably”.
Haigh highlighted the government’s commitment “to delivering the sustainable aviation fuel [SAF] mandate” from January, which requires 10% of UK aviation fuel to be SAF by 2030, and promised “appropriate buy out prices . . . building in the right incentives to meet our targets”.
However, one of the most senior industry leaders – Luis Gallego, chief executive of British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG) – immediately demanded more from the government.
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Gallego called for “government backing” for SAF “to make it happen”.
Haigh spoke at an industry roundtable at Farnborough where she promised the government would “replace short-term thinking with a clear plan for national renewal” and insisted: “Transport is at the heart of that plan.”
She reassured senior industry figures: “Without sectors like aviation, we cannot achieve economic growth, we cannot chart a future of clean energy, [and] we cannot deliver for those communities where you have a footprint.
“We’re serious about helping aviation grow sustainably, ensuring it continues to create jobs, facilitate trade and power our economy. That’s my priority.”
Haigh acknowledged potential investors in UK SAF production “need certainty – certainty of demand, certainty of revenue, certainty of government’s commitment” – and she said: “I appreciate certainty and politics have not gone hand in hand in recent years.
“But we hope with the sizeable mandate we’ve just received from the British people, we can give that certainty to you and your investors.”
The transport secretary described the SAF mandate as “a crucial first step” and said last week’s King’s Speech “underlined our desire to go further”, promising: “We’re introducing primary legislation for a SAF revenue certainty mechanism in this parliamentary session.
“This will remove barriers investors have long faced, giving them greater security and confidence.”
Haigh suggested: “By 2030, the SAF industry could add nearly £2 billion to our economy, supporting up to 10,000 jobs.”
However, Gallego said: “We urgently need producers to scale up the supply of SAF.
“We welcome the [government’s] commitment in the King’s Speech to put in place a mechanism.” But he said this “needs to be backed by government, to give SAF investors the price certainty they tell us they need”.