Volotea surpasses 7 million liters of SAF in 2025, tripling industry’s average usage rate

Photo: Volotea

Volotea, the airline connecting small and mid-sized European cities, announced April 28 that it continues to make progress in its commitment to more sustainable and responsible aviation.

In this context, the company used more than 7 million liters (1.85 million gallons) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in 2025, representing more than 2 percent of its total fuel consumption and more than tripling the airline industry average, which stood at around 0.6 percent over the same period.

This milestone marks a significant increase compared to 2024, when the airline used approximately 1.3 million liters (343,424 gallons) of SAF, more than a fivefold increase in just one year.

On a cumulative basis, between 2022 and 2025, Volotea incorporated more than 9.4 million liters (2.48 million gallons) of SAF into its operations, reflecting a clear acceleration in the adoption of this type of fuel.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, SAF is currently one of the most promising solutions for reducing CO2 emissions from international aviation in the short and medium term.

The sustainable fuels used by Volotea can reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent compared to conventional jet fuel, reinforcing its role as a key lever in the sector’s transition.

“Increasing the use of SAF is a key priority within our sustainability roadmap,” said Gloria Carreras, ESG director at Volotea. “We know that availability remains limited and that this is a structural challenge for the entire industry, but progress like what we achieved in 2025 shows that it is possible to accelerate adoption in a gradual and tangible way. Our goal is to continue increasing its share in our operations in the coming years, contributing in a realistic way to reducing the sector’s emissions.”

This effort is particularly relevant in the current European regulatory context.

The ReFuelEU aviation regulation sets progressive SAF blending targets, with a minimum of 2 percent in 2025, 6 percent in 2030 and 70 percent by 2050, requiring airlines to significantly accelerate adoption in the coming decades.

In this context, the company’s achievement of a more than 2 percent SAF share in 2025 already places it above the mandate for that year.

This result was made possible in part thanks to a voluntary SAF program involving some of the airline’s customers, which enabled the operation of the Paris-Orly and Rodez route with a 6 percent SAF blend for approximately three months.

To support this growth and anticipate supply constraints, Volotea has strengthened its sourcing strategy through medium-term agreements with key players in the energy sector.

In 2025, the company signed an agreement with Total Energies to secure up to 7.5 million liters (1.98 million gallons) of SAF through 2029 for its flights departing from French airports.

This adds to the agreement reached with Repsol, which guarantees an additional 6.1 million liters (1.61 million gallons) at Spanish airports over the same period, as well as the collaboration with Moeve, which has been supplying SAF for the airline’s operations in Spain since 2025.

At the same time, the airline continues to advance other initiatives aimed at achieving more sustainable aviation.

Since its founding in 2012, Volotea has implemented more than 50 environmental measures, reducing its carbon intensity (CO2 per passenger-kilometer) by more than 51 percent as of the end of 2024, reaching this milestone six years ahead of schedule.

The airline has now set a new target: a 55 percent to 60 percent reduction by 2030.

This is complemented by the efficiency of its operating model, based on direct flights that can reduce emissions by up to 56 percent compared to connecting routes, as well as strong load factors, with occupancy above 90 percent since 2018 and exceeding 91 percent in 2024.

In addition, since September 2022, Volotea has operated the Airbus internal shuttle service between Hamburg and Toulouse using a fuel blend with an average of 10 percent SAF on flights fueled in the German city.

With these advances, Volotea is reinforcing its sustainability positioning at a critical moment for the industry, as the development and scaling of SAF will be key to achieving long-term decarbonization goals.