On 5 November, AIRE attended an event hosted by BP in Brussels to celebrate its 100th anniversary, bringing together representatives from the European Commission, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), BP and the wider aviation industry to discuss the future of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in Europe.

The discussions provided an opportunity to reflect on the progress made in developing the European SAF market, while addressing the regulatory, economic and investment challenges that remain in scaling up production and ensuring the availability of affordable sustainable fuels.

During the event, Eddy Liégeois from the European Commission’s DG MOVE highlighted the important role of EU mandates in stimulating SAF demand and supporting the development of the market. He also emphasised the need for greater transparency in SAF pricing, particularly regarding the premiums charged by fuel suppliers, to ensure that airlines have a clearer understanding of the costs associated with their regulatory obligations.

From a supply perspective, EASA drew attention to Europe’s continued dependence on imported feedstocks and the importance of accelerating investment in large-scale synthetic aviation fuel (eSAF) production. Addressing these challenges will be essential to strengthening Europe’s domestic SAF production capacity and meeting the increasingly ambitious requirements under ReFuelEU Aviation.

Airline representatives also underlined the importance of effective financial support mechanisms, including SAF allowances, to help operators manage the additional costs associated with sustainable fuels while maintaining their competitiveness.

The exchanges highlighted a common challenge: achieving aviation’s decarbonisation objectives will require more than ambitious regulatory mandates. Greater market transparency, affordable SAF supply, investment certainty and appropriate financial incentives will be essential to ensuring a successful transition.

For AIRE, these discussions reinforce the importance of establishing a regulatory and economic framework that enables European airlines to decarbonise while remaining competitive. In particular, reinvesting EU ETS revenues into aviation decarbonisation, including support for SAF production and uptake, should play a central role in accelerating the transition towards a more sustainable European aviation sector.