Government pledges SAF production will mean ‘little change’ to price of flying

The government has pledged the cost of incentives to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will mean “little or no change” to the cost of airfares.

 

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander told the Airlines 2025 conference in London on Monday that “the goal of SAF is to get more people in the skies, not price them out” by making air travel more sustainable.

 

She said the government’s Revenue Certainty Mechanism for SAF producers would “ensure more UK SAF projects get off the ground” but insisted: “It includes safeguards so that airlines pay a fair market price for fuel and passengers see little to no change in the price of a ticket.”

 

The government launched a consultation on proposals for the mechanism last month. However, that made clear the costs would be passed “through the supply chain and on to consumers”.

 

Alexander listed a series of government promises to the industry, recalling that when she addressed the Airlines UK annual dinner in February, she “made clear the government’s ironclad commitment to aviation” and said: “Judge us on what we do.”

 

She noted the government had given the go ahead to “airport projects from London to Yorkshire” and claimed: “A new runway at Heathrow [is] closer than ever before.”

 

The transport secretary suggested: “In this government you finally have a partner you can trust.”

 

She insisted: “I’ve not got my fingers in my ears when CEOs talk to me about the UK’s competitiveness, reducing your cost burden or smoothing the transition to greener flight.

 

“We’re single-minded in our desire to remove those barriers holding you back.

 

“We simply cannot raise living standards, remove barriers to opportunity and deliver net zero without a thriving and sustainable aviation sector.”

 

Alexander argued: “The demand for flight is only going in one direction. If the UK is to seize its share of a growing global aviation market, then my job is to create the conditions for you to compete, to grow and to secure a more sustainable future.”

 

She said: “It beggars belief that for years the issue of capacity in London and the Southeast was kicked into the long grass.

 

“This government could have sat on its hands while claiming this was too difficult or too politically contentious.  But we weren’t prepared to let that happen.

 

“It’s why I gave the green light to Luton’s expansion in April, followed by Gatwick’s north runway in September, sending a clear signal this government is taking the brakes off growth. Just a few weeks ago, I announced an update on Heathrow’s expansion.”

 

She promised “a decision on a third runway within this parliament”, saying the government’s ambition is for “flights taking off on a new runway by 2035” and insisted: “We’ll waste no more time getting major infrastructure projects off the ground.”

 

Alexander noted she is currently considering two schemes for expanding Heathrow and said: “I’ll decide on a single scheme review very soon.”

 

She also pledged to move as fast as possible on UK airspace modernisation, insisting: “I will ensure the UK Airspace Design Service is set up before the end of the year.

 

“Initially focusing on London, it will streamline how airspace change proposals are handled, paving the way not just for additional flights, but for new technology such as air taxis and drones.”