Sustainable Aviation launches manifesto to promote SAF in the UK

In the UK, Sustainable Aviation (SA) launched a new manifesto outlining the aviation industry’s commitment to achieving net zero aviation and minimizing the impact of aviation noise, while maximizing the economic benefits that aviation delivers across the nations and regions of the UK.

The economic prize for the UK of leading aviation’s transition to a sustainable future is significant. As well as securing aviation’s role connecting the UK to the global economy, facilitating trade, investment, and personal travel, our plan for a net zero sector could generate up to 60,000 new jobs in a UK sustainable aviation fuel industry, and increase UK aerospace’s economic contribution from £8.4bn today to over £37bn by 2050.

In recent years Sustainable Aviation members have achieved significant milestones, including modernizing UK airspace to create more efficient flightpaths, a world-first transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuels and successful tests of hydrogen-powered aircraft.

However, acceleration of policy support is needed if we are to remain a competitive global aviation hub and capture the new opportunities of net zero flight, in the face of strong competition from overseas competitors who are seeking to corner the market on exciting new technologies.

At the top of the manifesto is calling for delivering commercial UK Sustainable Aviation Fuel production at scale this decade with at least five UK SAF plants under construction in 2025 to ensure the UK is well placed to take early mover advantage of SAF production and supply