Airports are emerging as catalysts in aviation’s decarbonisation efforts, taking on a central role as “strong facilitators and enablers” of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) deployment.
The Airports Council International’s (ACI) World Airports and Sustainable Aviation Fuels Policy Brief 2026 stated that airports are already encouraging their users to procure SAF, helping move the industry closer to its net zero ambition.
“At the centre of the aviation system, airports can and are already playing an important role in facilitating and encouraging their users to procure SAF and, in doing so, contribute to moving the aviation industry forward in its ambition to decarbonise,” according to the policy brief.
The ACI emphasised that airports possess extensive convening power, enabling them to bring together airlines, regulators, and the wider public to align interests in support of cleaner energy adoption.
The report noted that sustainable aviation fuels could reduce approximately 55% of international aviation emissions, with life cycle reductions of up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel, depending on production pathways and compliance with sustainability criteria.
The ACI explained that SAF can be distributed across the existing fuel supply chain without modification, a major advantage that lowers costs and complexity of adoption.
“Strong political commitments and a growing number of national and sub-national policies have contributed to the recent growth of the SAF market, which has doubled in production every year since 2023.
“Scenarios estimate SAF production needs between 330 and 500 Mt of SAF per annum by 2050. 1 Mt was produced in 2024, 1.9 Mt expected in 2025, and 2.4 Mt potentially expected for 2026,” the report stated.
The brief also highlighted barriers such as high SAF premiums, limited facilities, and geographic mismatches between production and demand hubs. The ACI stressed that unlocking financial resources and adopting policy frameworks are essential to de risk capital investments for SAF projects.
“The aviation sector, in coordination with the energy and financing sectors, must accelerate and ramp up the development of SAF on a global scale, to meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) global vision of reducing CO2 emissions in international aviation by 5% by 2030 through the use of SAF, LCAF and other aviation cleaner energies (compared to zero cleaner energy use), as agreed by the ICAO Third Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3) in 2023 (ICAO, 2023a),” the report stated.
The report added that airports worldwide are undertaking initiatives to promote SAF, including consortia, feasibility studies, and roadmaps, reinforcing their role as conveners in the global decarbonisation agenda.
