Updated on Friday 15 March with a link to the published manifesto
American Express Global Business Travel is urging the UK government to create “a stable policy landscape” that supports the scaling of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) ahead of the UK’s planned SAF mandate.
The call comes as the TMC giant meets with the UK Department for Transport today (14 March) for a roundtable discussion on the topic chaired by Anthony Browne, the UK’s Minister for Aviation and Decarbonisation of Transport.
Travel and aviation stakeholders as well as SAF investors and producers are expected to attend the event, jointly hosted by Amex GBT and business networking group BritishAmerican Business, in what is believed to be one of the first times the UK government is directly engaging the corporate travel industry around scaling SAF.
Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss earlier this week raised similar concerns regarding SAF incentives for airlines. At an industry conference on Monday, Weiss warned that the combined effect of Air Passenger Duty increases and a likely SAF mandate will lead to an increase in fares if government incentives aren’t also rolled out.
The UK government is expected to pass legislation in the coming weeks that will require airlines taking off from the UK to use at least 10 per cent SAF by 2030 which would mirror an EU mandate already in place.
In addition to the roundtable, Amex GBT also plans to release a SAF manifesto later today, which will outline the industry’s areas of concern ahead of this year’s general election.
This will include calls for recognition of ‘book-and-claim’ platforms – with clear and consistent accounting and reporting standards – as a means of unlocking long-term corporate investment, as well as incentives to boost SAF production and R&D across the supply chain.
The TMC launched its Avelia book-and-claim SAF programme in 2022 alongside energy giant Shell and professional services company Accenture.
The initiative, which allows travellers to pay for SAF and claim the benefits, even if SAF is not available at their departure airport, has been joined by Google, AON and Bank of America.
The manifesto will also urge policymakers to prioritise renewable fuel production for “hard to electrify” sectors such as aviation.
According to IATA, only 6 per cent of all renewable fuel produced in 2024 is expected to be used for SAF (aviation), while the remainder will be used by other sectors. In order to reach the industry’s net zero goals by 2050, this needs to increase dramatically to between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, according to the air transport association.
Read the full manifesto here.