Sustainable aviation fuel is 'stupid' and new planes are the answer to future goals, AirAsia chief says

AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes has dismissed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as an idea that “makes absolutely no sense”, arguing that new-technology aircraft and engines will help the aviation industry reach its sustainability goals. SAFs are synthetic alternatives to fossil fuels, made from renewable sources, such as waste cooking oils, vegetable fats and agricultural waste. The outspoken airline industry veteran said aviation will reach its net-zero goals by the 2050 timeline but questioned the pathways set out to achieve this target. “I feel the travel industry is taxed unfairly. I think sustainable aviation fuel is stupid, I think it makes absolutely no sense at all because there is not enough cooking oil in the world to fill the planes. Putting 1% or 2% of cooking oil into your plane is not going to change global warming,” Fernandes told the Skift Global Forum East in Dubai on Wednesday. The goal of net-zero by 2050 set out by the IATA is doable but “some of the suggestions coming out are just stupid”, he added. SAF is expected to account for 65% of the emissions reduction needed by the global aviation industry by 2050, according to Iata. It accounts for just 0.53% of the aviation industry’s fuel needs for this year, the global airlines lobby group said in June. While SAF production in 2024 is on track to triple to 1.5m tonnes, “exponential increases” in supply are needed, it added.<br/>