PA Consulting’s new report explores the barriers to scaling Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and how airports can lead the charge to decarbonise aviation.
Airports’ critical role in scaling SAF solutions
As aviation faces the challenge to decarbonise flight, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has emerged as the most immediate and scalable solution.
Yet despite SAF’s promise – cutting lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 percent compared to fossil-based jet fuel – progress remains patchy. Our research report, Cacophony to symphony: successfully scaling sustainable aviation fuel, identifies cost, misalignment, and fragmented action as the primary barriers to widespread adoption.
The research gathered views on SAF from close to 600 leaders globally across the SAF value chain, including 125 airport representatives. Across all respondents, the survey reveals strong belief in SAF’s potential:
- 92 percent of respondents say SAF is crucial to decarbonisation
- 78 percent believe it holds promise for job creation
- Yet only 40 percent are optimistic about widespread SAF adoption by 2030.
Specifically, leaders from airports project SAF to rise from three percent of total aviation fuel today to seven percent by 2030 – this would be consistent with the level of the EU mandates but fall short of the UK’s 10 percent target. Even more discouragingly, two-thirds of the airports we surveyed lack a SAF strategy, and half have no net zero roadmap.
The more encouraging finding is that airports, as physical hubs and conveners of the aviation ecosystem, have a unique opportunity to lead the charge and orchestrate a whole-system response to scale SAF. So, how can airports reframe their role to help orchestrate SAF success?
Lay the foundations for policy success
To scale SAF, our research finds it’s vital that government policy actively encourages investment in, and creates confidence around, the SAF market – because a significant market shift requires market stimulation. Yet it’s also clear that key players can’t wait for government to act. Airport leaders can start driving progress in response to known conditions, and in parallel with ongoing policy developments.
In the face of wider federal uncertainty in the US, for instance, airports should be focusing on local action – partnering with state- and regional-level leaders to co-fund SAF infrastructure or offer tax incentives. These efforts lead by example and also create proof points that can shape higher-level policy. With the likes of San Francisco International Airport (SFO), we’re already seeing bold, state-based action shape the future of SAF in the US. Working with a coalition of 150 airlines, fuel providers, and other organisations, SFO successfully lobbied the California Air Resources Board to expand the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to offer the opt-in inclusion of SAF. As a result, the LCFS offers a ~$1.25 per US gallon incentive for SAF over conventional fuel, levelling the playing field and making California ‘the world’s most competitive market for SAF’.
Beyond that, airports can start engaging with, and supporting as appropriate, national SAF policies such as the UK’s proposed revenue certainty mechanism. And by investing in SAF-compatible infrastructure, co-developing supply networks, and partnering across the value chain. Examples include Heathrow’s SAF incentive scheme and the Minnesota SAF Hub.
Act as the convenor for the SAF cost reduction mission
Our research found that cost is the single biggest barrier to SAF scale-up. SAF is projected to cost 115 percent more than conventional jet fuel by 2030.
Airports can help rebalance risk and reward by facilitating buyer coalitions, aggregating demand, and enabling longer, bankable offtake agreements. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), 175 airports globally already offer or have offered , and this number is expected to grow as supply becomes a competitive differentiator.
Innovative procurement models – such as Book & Claim and Scope 3 attribute sales – allow airports, airlines, corporations, and others to support SAF production without physical delivery. Projects such as British Airways’ long-term contracts with Project Speedbird demonstrate how early adoption can yield cost advantages and market leadership.
Airports can act as conveners – bringing together airlines, fuel suppliers, corporates, and passengers. The aforementioned Minnesota SAF Hub, which supplies SAF to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, demonstrates the power of regional collaboration. Backed by Delta Air Lines, Bank of America, and the State of Minnesota, the hub aims to produce up to one billion US gallons of SAF annually, integrating feedstocks, refining, and pipeline delivery.
Future-proof with flexibility
With two-thirds of airport respondents to our survey saying they do not have a SAF strategy, and half with no net zero roadmap, inertia risks undermining public trust and investor confidence. Out of everyone in the SAF ecosystem, airports are closest to their communities and often bear the brunt of environmental scrutiny. As our report notes, “If airports aren’t seen to act, the court of public and government opinion may turn against them.”
With 75 percent of global travellers expressing a desire to travel more and 44 percent willing to pay more for SAF-powered flights, the pressure is mounting. Airports must demonstrate they are part of a regenerative future – not just by complying with mandates, but by leading the transition.
We’re seeing positive examples. The CEO of Massport, the operator of Boston Logan Airport (BOS), has set out a far-reaching plan to develop a New England SAF Hub. Yet more airports need to shift from hesitation to action. SAF-readiness assessments can identify low-cost infrastructure upgrades, depending on each airport’s unique attributes. These assessments also consider whether current models require open access legislation. At airports such as Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), any qualified supplier can supply jet aviation fuel. Airlines are free to choose their suppliers and into-plane agents based on price and service, and may also act as their own supplier.
Along the way, transparency is key. Airports should track and publish SAF uptake data to build transparency and investor confidence, linking to platforms like the IATA SAF Registry or national fuel tracking systems. These metrics and key indicators should align with global norms, such as those used by ICAO, with the option to use public-facing dashboards or open data portals for wider stakeholders to access and validate the data, as appropriate.
And as the SAF market evolves, flexibility will be key. Producers like Firefly Green Fuels and LanzaJet are developing modular facilities and diversified feedstock strategies to adapt to market forces. Airports must similarly remain agile – ready to pivot as technologies, policies, and consumer expectations shift.
Airports as proactive leaders
Almost two decades on from the first commercial SAF flight, our research is clear: no one player can scale SAF alone. We need collaboration, not fragmentation.
While our report delves into the required actions for all players across the SAF ecosystem, it’s clear that airports have a distinct and central role to play. They are uniquely positioned to convene all parts of the aviation ecosystem, together with the fuel suppliers and government actors necessary, to orchestrate the symphony of SAF scale-up. And by setting the agenda, convening stakeholders, and embracing flexible, data-driven strategies, they can transform from passive participants to proactive leaders.
