Jet2.com announced that it will use a blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at London Stansted Airport in 2024, meaning the leading leisure airline will use SAF on departing flights from two UK airports in 2024, almost a year ahead of the UK’s Government’s SAF mandate which is due to be introduced from 2025.

The UK’s third largest airline has purchased approximately 650 tonnes of SAF from Shell Aviation, which will be used to add a 1% SAF blend onto a number of departing flights from London Stansted Airport this year.  When used in its neat form, SAF can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to using conventional jet fuel.

Jet2.com revealing just last month that it will use a blend of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at Bristol Airport in 2024. Across the two airports, this means that Jet2.com has purchased approximately 1,000 tonnes of SAF.

Using a SAF blend in 2024 means that Jet2.com can prepare its operation ahead of the UK SAF mandate, which will be introduced from 1st January 2025. As part of this mandate, fuel suppliers have been set a target that at least 10% of jet fuel should be made from SAF by 2030.  

Jet2 plc has already made an equity investment into a new SAF production plant to be constructed in the North West of England – one of the first such deals in UK aviation. The Fulcrum NorthPoint facility, being developed by Fulcrum BioEnergy Ltd, will operate as a Waste-to-Fuels plant, with Jet2.com set to receive more than 200 million litres of SAF once operational. The plant will also generate up to 1,500 jobs, benefitting the national and local economy.

This investment in SAF is just part of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays’ journey to net zero by 2050, in line with Government targets, although the company aspires to bring this date forward. The company has published a sustainability strategy which outlines its targets and actions, with an update due to be released this year. 

Pledges in the strategy include the purchase of 110 firm ordered Airbus A320/A321 neo aircraft, which could eventually extend up to 146 aircraft, making travelling with Jet2.com and Jet2holidays more efficient by further reducing emissions per passenger. To date, the company has taken delivery of seven of these new aircraft. In addition, Jet2holidays has recently launched a brand-new hotel sustainability labelling scheme, meaning that customers and independent travel agents can easily find and choose from a collection of certified sustainable hotels which meet Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Recognised standards. Currently featuring over 900 hotels, the collection can be found here: jet2holidays.com/sustainable-hotels.

Despite Jet2’s investments into SAF, without a fully-fledged domestic SAF industry, the UK remains reliant on fuel imported at a high-cost or requires airlines to pay a buy-out price, putting UK airlines and holidaymakers at a competitive disadvantage.