Jet2 to use sustainable aviation fuel on flights from Bristol Airport in 2024

The UK’s third largest airline has purchased over 300 tonnes of SAF from Q8Aviation, which will be used to add a 1% SAF blend onto a number of departing flights from Bristol Airport this year.

The total emissions of the SAF that Jet2.com has purchased are at least 70% lower than those of conventional aviation fuel.

As well as realising these benefits, 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 1^st January 2025. As part of this mandate, airlines have been set a target that at least 10% of jet fuel should be made from SAF by 2030.

SAF is recognised as one of the best methods to decarbonise aviation in the short to medium term, including recently by the Transport Select Committee which stated: “Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are the most viable option for the immediate reduction of aviation emissions.”[i]

In addition to today’s announcement, 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[ii] which outlines its targets and actions, with an update due to be released this year.

Pledges in the strategy include the purchase of 98 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 five 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: www.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.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “Travel and tourism is a force for good and, like all industries, we know how critical it is to mitigate our climate impacts. Like many, we see SAF as essential in helping the industry do this, which is why we are using a SAF blend at Bristol Airport in 2024 so that we can realise its benefits and prepare our operation for what we anticipate will be more and more SAF uptake. This announcement, in addition to our investment into a new SAF plant in the North West of England, shows how committed we are to SAF and how much we believe in unlocking its huge potential. We very much see 1% as the starting point and we want to grow this materially over the coming years.”

He added: “Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go to unlock the huge potential of a UK SAF industry. Without more supplies of UK SAF and greater support to incentivise its uptake and reduce its cost, our industry and UK holidaymakers are at a disadvantage. This is too much of an important opportunity to miss, as such an industry could provide 20,000 jobs and £3bn in economic activity[iii] by 2035. The UK Government must implement the price revenue mechanism earlier than the current timeline of 2026 which means we can secure investor confidence, build the UK SAF plants that we need, and turbocharge the UK SAF industry.”