Airlines closing in on SAF flights milestone, but progress remains incremental

Sometime in the early days of Jul-2023 airlines will operate their 500,000th flight powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

The milestone is another step in the global effort to transition aviation away from conventional fossil-based fuels and towards sustainable options.

However, getting to this point has also taken more than a decade. The rate of progress with SAF-powered commercial flights is emblematic of the wider rate of environmental progress by commercial aviation.

While the sector has ambitious net zero goals, getting there is not going to be easy, and it's going to take concerted effort over a long time.