The development of clean aviation fuel is likely to fall short of the UK government's first annual mandate, officials say.
Production data published by the Department for Transport (DfT) covering most of 2025 shows that sustainable fuel (SAF) fuel supplied to UK flights accounted for only 1.6% – 20% less fuel by volume than the 2% required to meet the requirement.
In January, the government introduced a mandate that would require suppliers to meet SAF targets, which the industry has already achieved. this is said to be important for reducing carbon emissions. – in the overall structure of UK aviation fuel.
mandatory goal will rise sharply from 2% in 2025 to 10% in 2030 and then to 22% in 2040, including the use of second-generation fuels, which are considered more sustainable in the long term.
Until now, SAF supplies have been made exclusively from processed vegetable oil from Asia, predominantly China, DfT data shows.
The data shows that of the 10 billion liters of jet fuel burned in the UK up to the start of October, just over 160 million liters (35 million gallons) of SAF were used.
The DfT said the time it takes to review means the figures are provisional and final figures for the year are not expected to be published until November 2026.
Planes burning SAF still emit the same amount of CO2 in flight, but the net carbon footprint is calculated to be much smaller due to the way SAF is produced compared to conventional aviation fuel. Although many scientists and environmental groups remain deeply I'm skeptical about the possibility of deliveryThe production and deployment of SAF is seen as the only way for commercial, and especially long-haul aviation, to reduce emissions.
Although the government has supported aviation as a driver of economic growth and has granted permission for the construction of airports, including Gatwick And Luton To expand quickly, ministers have vowed to consult the Climate Change Committee on construction plans third runway at Heathrow.
Aviation Minister Keir Mather told an industry conference in London earlier this month that the Heathrow expansion would still have to pass Labour's four tests, including reducing its climate impact, but that decarbonisation would be a “license to grow”.
He said SAF represented the biggest opportunity and the government's SAF Bill, which is going through the House of Lords, “will provide the revenue certainty mechanism you have called for – a guaranteed price for SAF that reduces risk for investors and increases confidence for producers.”
Heathrow Airport has pushed the adoption of SAF with an incentive scheme that reduces landing charges for airlines using cleaner fuel. The company expects to achieve its own target of 3% SAF utilization during 2025.
However, airlines have less available inventory outside of major hubs and are questioning whether future mandates can be met, especially when more expensive second-generation SAFs and power-to-fluid SAFs are required that are not yet produced at scale.
The UK is further advanced than most countries in the world in aviation. International airlines body Iata recently warned that global production growth is slowing, with SAF supplying just 0.6% of total jet fuel consumption in 2025 and forecast to rise to 0.8% in 2026.
IATA director general Willie Walsh criticized these mandates, adding: “If the goal is to increase SAF production to further decarbonise aviation, then they need to learn from the failures and work with the aviation industry to develop incentives that will work.”
Duncan McCourt, chief executive of aviation industry body Sustainable Aviation, said: “This preliminary data shows that the UK is using significant numbers of SAF and we remain confident that the mandate will be met and UK aviation will use increasing numbers of SAF in the coming years.”
