Heathrow increases incentive for sustainable aviation fuel

Heathrow is stepping up its carbon reduction programme, for the fifth year in a row, with the aim of exceeding the UK's 3.6% SAF limit by 2% in 2026. Overall, this would bring up to 5.6% of all aviation fuel used at Heathrow to be SAF, equivalent to around 350,000 tonnes1, with support of more than £80 million for airlines in 2026.

SAF, an alternative fuel to traditional fossil kerosene, can be produced from a variety of sources and can reduce carbon emissions over its life cycle by an average of 70%. The program encourages airlines to switch to SAF by halving the price gap between kerosene and its cleaner alternative by about half, making SAF more commercially viable for airlines. In 2026, SAF at Heathrow has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by around 600,000 tonnes, the equivalent of more than 950,000 economy class passengers travelling round trip from Heathrow to JFK.

Heathrow aims to progressively increase the supply of SAF to 11% of the fuel transported at Heathrow by 2030, overcoming the government-imposed requirement to reach 10% across the UK by 2030.

For Matt Gorman, Heathrow's Director of Sustainability, "Sustainable aviation fuel is already making a real impact in 2026. Heathrow is leading the way globally, with 17% of the world's sustainable fuel (SAF) supply in 2024 used at the airport. Our incentive represents concrete progress today, as well as a promise for the future".

He also emphasized that SAF is a key lever on aviation's path to net-zero emissions by 2050 and a key element of Heathrow's Net Zero Plan.