Scandinavian Airlines warns Europe risks future fuel shock without e‑SAF drive
In Sweden, AeroTime reported that a new report from Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has warned that Europe risks future fuel shock without a significant drive to produce vast amounts of sustainable fuel.
Published on April 30, 2026, SAS’s report states that Europe is heading toward a structural shortage of e-SAF (electro-sustainable aviation fuel) just as the EU’s ReFuelEU Aviation regulation comes into force.
The European Union’s ReFuelEU places legal obligations on fuel suppliers, airports and operators to adopt sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in order to reduce emissions, the report stated.
The airline suggests that a “rapid build-out” of sustainable fuel production is required, or else the shortfall “could push up fares, force route cuts and deepen Europe’s energy vulnerability at a moment when global fuel markets are already under pressure”.
SAS predicts that demand for e-SAF will rise sharply from 2030, but so far no European production facility has yet reached Final Investment Decision (FID).
Mads Brandstrup Nielsen, Senior Vice President Communication, Public Affairs and Sustainability at SAS, said: “What we are seeing now is a reminder of how exposed Europe remains to global fuel shocks. If we fail to build domestic e‑SAF production, we risk creating a second vulnerability, this time inside a regulated system where demand is mandated but supply is not. This is a structural issue that will affect ticket prices, route networks and Europe’s competitiveness unless we act now.”
Category: SAF
