Singapore plans SAF fee on flights starting in 2026

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will introduce a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Levy for all Origin-Destination passengers, Origin-Destination cargo shipments, and general and business aviation flights departing Singapore from 1 October 2026, applicable for tickets or services sold from 1 April 2026. The amount of the SAF Levy is set based on the volume of SAF needed to meet the 1% SAF target for 2026 and the projected price premium of SAF over conventional jet fuel and other associated costs, including the cost of certification, blending, and delivery. VIEWPOINT: Net zero by 2050 — Fuhgeddaboudit IATA launches Integrated Sustainability Program IATA says SAF tech rollout is ‘main bottleneck’ to net zero As longer flights consume more fuel, the SAF Levy varies based on the distance travelled. For simplicity and ease of administration, all destinations from Singapore are grouped into four geographical bands. For flights with multiple stops, the SAF Levy applicable is based on the immediate next destination after departing Singapore. The SAF Levy for passengers is set on a per-passenger basis and varies based on the distance travelled, categorised by four geographical bands, and the cabin of travel: (a) Economy Cabin which includes Economy Class and Premium Economy Class, or (b) Premium Cabin which includes Business Class and First Class. The SAF Levy for Premium Cabin is four times that for the Economy Cabin for the same geographical band, based on industry norms for calculating the carbon emissions of passengers in different cabins of travel. The airline will collect the SAF Levy and must display the SAF Levy as a distinct line item on the air ticket sold. The SAF Levy will only apply to Origin-Destination passengers and not those transiting through Singapore. CAAS had previously estimated the SAF Levy to be around S$3.00, S$6.00, and S$16.00 for a passenger in economy class travelling direct to Bangkok, Tokyo, and London, respectively. The actual SAF Levy amounts for economy tickets to these same destinations are S$1.00, S$2.80 and S$6.40 respectively. The lower SAF Levy amounts reflect the lower prevailing cost of SAF compared to when the initial estimates were made. The SAF Levy for Origin-Destination cargo shipments is set on a per-kilogramme basis and varies based on the distance travelled, categorised by the four geographical bands. The aircraft operator will collect the SAF Levy and must display the SAF Levy as a distinct line item on the air cargo contract. Please refer to Table 3 for the SAF Levy for cargo shipments. The SAF Levy for general and business aviation flights is charged on a per-aircraft basis and varies based on the distance travelled, categorised by the four geographical bands, and the aircraft’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) codes A-F for aircraft wingspan which serve as a proxy for aircraft size. Certain flights, such as training flights and flights for charitable or humanitarian purposes, will not be subject to the SAF Levy. The SAF Levy collected will go into a statutory SAF Fund managed by CAAS. The fund will be used solely for the purchase of SAF and/or SAF environmental attributes (EAs) and to cover associated administrative costs. The Singapore Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company Ltd. (SAFCo) will manage the procurement, allocation, and administration of SAF and EAs, to get best value for money and ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of the fund. CAAS will continue to engage airlines, aircraft operators and other industry stakeholders in the coming weeks and work with them on implementation. Manufacturers like ATR are also stepping up with SAF initiatives. (PHOTO: ATR) Han Kok Juan, Director-General of CAAS said, “The introduction of the SAF Levy marks a major step forward in Singapore’s effort to build a more sustainable and competitive air hub. It provides a mechanism for all aviation users to do their part to contribute to sustainability at a cost which is manageable for the air hub. We need to make a start. We have done so in a measured way, and we are giving industry, businesses and the public time to adjust.” The ICAO has set a Long-Term Aspirational Goal of net zero carbon emissions for international aviation by 2050. As a member of the international civil aviation community and an ICAO Council Member, Singapore is committed to working towards that goal and will do so in a practical manner, advancing both sustainability and competitiveness of our air hub, not one at the expense of the other. In 2024, CAAS launched the Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint which sets out Singapore’s balanced approach to the long-term, sustainable growth of Singapore’s aviation sector. Under the Blueprint, CAAS will work with aviation stakeholders to reduce domestic aviation emissions from airport operations4 by 20% from 2019 levels (404ktCO2e) in 2030 and achieve net zero domestic and international aviation emissions by 2050. To achieve these goals, 12 initiatives across the airport, airline and air traffic management domains will be rolled out to decarbonise the Singapore aviation sector. CAAS will also put in place five enablers to create the conditions for the effective implementation of these initiatives. They include policy and regulation, industry development, infrastructure planning and provision, workforce transformation, and international partnerships and collaborations. Within this, CAAS has identified the implementation of SAF as a critical pathway for aviation decarbonisation. To support SAF adoption, Singapore has set a 1% SAF uplift target for 2026, with the goal to raise this to 3 to 5% by 2030, subject to global developments and the wider availability of SAF. Singapore will seek to achieve the SAF target through a mandatory SAF Levy, via a fixed cost envelope approach. CAAS will aggregate SAF demand across airlines and centrally procure SAF using the SAF Levy collected, with the new SAFCo set up for that purpose. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]