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Non-fossil fuels: airlines’ doubts about European objectives

by AI | 27.Mar 2025 | Europe in brief AI

The main European airlines fear being unable to meet the EU’s targets regarding the introduction of fuels from renewable sources.

Iberia planes, the airline of Spain, are stationed at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, on December 3, 2024. (Photo: Thomas COEX / AFP)

Brussels – Several European airlines questioned on Thursday the feasibility of using non-fossil fuels in their planes by 2030, estimating that their production might not be sufficient.

However, they assured that they remained “fully committed to decarbonizing aviation and reducing emissions,” after the European Commission countered that it deemed these objectives “realistic and achievable.”

The European Union, as part of its decarbonization efforts, requires that an increasing portion of aviation fuels come from renewable sources (sustainable aviation fuels, SAF in English).

Set at 2% since the beginning of the year, this proportion must rise to 6% in 2030 and gradually to 70% in 2050.

But already, “we do not have enough SAF, and the SAF we have is very expensive,” three to five times more than petroleum-based kerosene, stated Luis Gallego, head of the IAG airline group (British Airways, Iberia…) on behalf of the Airlines for Europe (A4E) association. (March 27, 2025)