Over €400 million in EU ETS support given to airlines for using sustainable aviation fuels in 2025
Caroline Randall
Marketing Manager
On 8 September 2026, the Commission adopted a new decision allocating EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) allowances to airlines for using sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in 2025. Under this decision, EU ETS support for SAF uptake in 2025 amounts to about 5.2 million ETS allowances, worth approximately €430 million and distributed among 130 operators. This Decision was based on calculations by Member States’ authorities for commercial airlines and marks another key step in implementing the additional support mechanism under the EU ETS to promote SAF uptake.
This year’s support exceeds by more than four times last year’s support for SAF uptake in the form of €100 million in EU ETS allowances and further EU ETS allocations for EEA countries. It also comes on top of the €135 million incentive resulting from the zero rating of the SAF consumed by airlines on routes subject to the EU ETS surrendering obligation. The total amount of SAF claimed in 2025 was over 530 000 tonnes, consisting of biofuels and advanced biofuels, which contributed to about 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 abatement. Taken together, the ETS incentive for use of SAF in 2025 amounts to around €565 million (€430 million from ETS allowances and €135 million from ETS zero rating of sustainable fuels).
