Travel by plane could become even less affordable as the EU hits US green jet fuel imports (Image: Getty)
The European Union is accused of jeopardising supplies of jet fuel and forcing up the cost of flights. The warning comes as the head of the International Energy Agency has sounded the alarm that the continent has “maybe six weeks of jet fuel left” in the wake of the Iran crisis. Fuel prices have roughly doubled since the US launched its attacks on the regime. A combination of environmental requirements and EU protectionism threaten to make the cost of holidays which involve air travel more expensive.
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden said: “The EU is blocking the very fuel imports it needs to meet its own green targets, and British passengers will pay the price in pricier flights.”
Airlines around the world have scrambled to respond to hike in fuel costs with flights cancelled, price rises and extra baggage costs. The aviation sector now is calling on the European Union to ease costs pressures and avoid shortages by reversing measures which force up the price of importing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from the United States and Canada.
The EU requires that at least 2% of fuel used by airports is SAF, and the requirement will rise to a minimum of 70% by 2050. The industry insists the EU cannot produce enough SAF domestically and will need to rely on imports. It warns that the EU has reduced access to SAF – just as demand is expected to surge – by slapping duties on SAF from the US and Canada. This is expected to lead to higher costs for airlines and passengers and make air travel less affordable.
Robert Jenrick is confident fuel prices can be brought down (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said: “While global fuel supplies are under strain, the EU is slapping duties on vital Sustainable Aviation Fuel – inevitably pushing up ticket prices – and yet Keir Starmer still wants to drag us back under the bloc’s control.
“Labour should be easing the pressure on British families already reeling from rising costs, not trying to tie us to policies that make travel even more expensive.”
Mr Jenrick said his party would “immediately help British families by abolishing flight tax on family holidays and bringing household bills down”.
The Tories’ Mr Holden added: “Labour won’t push back on this. They see aviation as a problem to manage rather than an industry to back, and they daren’t say a word that might upset Brussels. The Conservatives will always stand up for British aviation, fight for an urgent reassessment of these damaging duties, and make the case unapologetically that affordable air travel matters for working people and for our economy.”
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said: “Europe’s own projections show that imported SAF is essential to meeting the EU’s blending mandates. Imposing duties on these supplies will only increase the cost of each unit of emissions reduction.”
Willie Walsh argues imported SAF is vital (Image: PA)
A review of the measures is scheduled for August but there are now calls for an urgent reassessment. It is feared the duties will effectively shut US and Canadian SAF our of the EU market.
The sector claims that demand for SAF in the EU is likely to hit 9.6 million tonnes by 2035 but supply is only expected to reach 3.6 million tonnes by 2030.
Leading trade bodies and companies including IATA, Boeing and Ryanair have written to the EU Commission, warning: “Applying duties to SAF creates uncertainty at a critical stage of market scale-up, risks constraining supply needed for compliance with EU law, undermines investor confidence and increases the cost of aviation decarbonisation, which will negatively impact on European consumers… Applying duties to SAF creates uncertainty at a critical stage of market scale-up, risks constraining supply needed for compliance with EU law, undermines investor confidence and increases the cost of aviation decarbonisation, which will negatively impact on European consumers.”
A European Commission spokesperson said: “There are no fuel shortages in the EU at present. We are, however, preparing for possible supply shortages for jet fuels.”
The UK Department for Transport declined to comment on the EU’s policy, but said: “The UK is a leader in incentivising more SAF use in our skies, through our pioneering SAF mandate and the upcoming revenue certainty mechanism – which is designed to attract more SAF production and jobs to the UK. We are supporting the transition to greener aviation through £63million investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel production and a further £43million for zero carbon technology research.”