Heathrow boosts 2026 SAF incentive to fly 2% above UK government mandate

Heathrow Airport in the U.K. announced Feb. 13 that it is stepping up its industry-leading carbon-cutting program for a fifth consecutive year with an ambitious target to go 2 percent beyond the U.K.’s 3.6 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate in 2026.

Combined, this would see up to 5.6 percent of all aviation fuel used at Heathrow to be SAF, equating to around 350,000 metric tons, backed by over £80 million (USD$109 million) of support for airlines in 2026.

SAF, a fuel alternative to traditional fossil-based kerosene, can be made from a variety of sources and can cut lifecycle-carbon emissions by 70 percent on average.

The scheme encourages airlines to switch to SAF by approximately halving the price gap between kerosene and its cleaner alternative, making SAF more commercially viable for airlines.

In 2026, the SAF uplifted at Heathrow has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by around 600,000 tons, the equivalent of more than 950,000 economy-class passengers’ roundtrips from Heathrow to JFK Airport in New York.

Heathrow said it is aiming to progressively increase the uplift of SAF to make up 11 percent of fuel uplifted at Heathrow by 2030, going beyond the government mandate of 10 percent across the U.K. by 2030.

“Sustainable aviation fuel is not a hypothetical concept for the future, it’s already producing real impact in 2026,” said Matt Gorman, Heathrow’s director of sustainability.

“Heathrow is leading the way globally, with 17 percent of the world’s SAF supply in 2024 used at the airport,” Gorman added. “SAF is a key lever on aviation’s journey to net zero by 2050 and a key element of Heathrow’s net-zero plan. Our incentive delivers real progress today, as well as a future promise for tomorrow.”