Sustainable Aviation
21 July 2026
- An updated Decarbonisation Road-Map warns without decisive government support, the £100bn UK aviation sector risks losing its global competitiveness and higher transition costs for passengers.
- Industry is already making progress to decarbonise between 2005 and 2024, average emissions per passenger fell by 22% despite a 28% increase in passenger numbers.
- Sustainable Aviation’s Road-Map also presents an updated, ambitious plan based on several scenario-based pathways to deliver net zero carbon emissions.
UK aviation can decarbonise while meeting growth ambitions, but urgent government action is needed to prevent costs increasing for passengers and the sector losings its competitive edge, an updated industry Road-Map warns.
The aviation sector is a cornerstone of the UK economy, contributing more than £100bn annually and over 850,000 jobs across the UK. It connects people and businesses, carries one third of all freight by value, and enables growth in other sectors.
Without further action the UK would lose its powerhouse footing. The Road-Map urges government to fund aerospace innovation, speed up airspace upgrades, make Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) widely affordable and fast-track UK production through the Revenue Certainty Mechanism, and create a cost-effective system for carbon removals.
This action would build on the progress already taken to decarbonise, which has seen UK aviation emissions fall. Between 2005 and 2024, UK passenger numbers increased by 28%, while absolute aviation emissions fell by around 1%. On average, emissions per passenger have reduced by around 22%.
When accounting for lifecycle emissions savings from Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), net emissions have fallen by 2.5%. When including emissions covered by the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) as a ‘net contribution’ towards overall UK emission reductions delivered through compliance beyond the aviation share of emissions under the UK ETS, this would represent a [total net] reduction of nearly 13%.
Sustainable Aviation’s analysis finds that SAF is expected to remain the single largest driver of emissions reduction within the sector. Under the Road-Map’s central scenario, SAF will account for 65% of total aviation fuel use by 2050. This ambitious target would deliver lifecycle emissions savings of around 80% and contribute approximately 31% of total decarbonisation.
Further carbon reductions will be delivered through fleet renewal (20%) and airspace and operational upgrades (4%), alongside a gradual moderation in demand growth (15%). By 2050, Greenhouse Gas Removals will remove residual emissions, accounting for 29% of the required reductions – removing roughly 19.5 million tonnes of CO₂ annually.
However, the sector will only achieve a continued reduction in its emissions with the right policy environment in place. Other nations are moving quickly to support sustainable aviation technologies, fuels and infrastructure, and the UK must avoid transition costs becoming materially higher than competitor markets.
The UK must not fail to draw on its advantages as a world class aerospace and aviation industry, with brilliant innovation capabilities. Sustainable Aviation is calling on the Government to match its ambition with further decisive policy, including:
- Focus on keeping SAF costs as low as reasonably possible, by enabling access to global SAF supply and maximising SAF feedstock availability within robust sustainability guardrails;
- Support the development of a UK SAF industry via First-of-a-kind pathfinder projects by finalising the Revenue Certainty Mechanism and accelerating planning approvals for SAF projects;
- Prioritise the cost competitiveness of UK aviation by developing a robust commercial framework to scale domestic GGR supply at the lowest possible cost and ensuring access to verified international credits;
- Continue cross-party and regulatory support to maintain momentum on the airspace modernisation programme; and
- Maintain long-term funding for the Aerospace Technology Institute to sustain UK leadership in aircraft and engine efficiency development.
This new Decarbonisation Road-Map sets out the real progress the UK aviation industry is making to decarbonise and reach the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
With record numbers of passengers travelling through UK airports, our net emissions continue to fall. On average, emissions per passenger have fallen by 22% – demonstrating that UK aviation can continue to grow, connect businesses, and take people on holiday while reducing its impact on the environment.
The industry is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions. However, we cannot reach this goal alone. To scale the solutions we need and protect the UK’s global competitiveness, we urgently need the Government to match our ambition with decisive policy action and investment certainty.Neil Robinson, Chair of Sustainable Aviation
Sustainable Aviation’s updated Road-Map shows how the industry can remain resilient to evolving global conditions, including pressures on costs, geopolitical developments, and challenges in scaling SAF supply and carbon removals.
Achieving the Road-Map’s ambition depends on many factors but with the right conditions in place the sector can deliver net zero by 2050 while continuing to drive economic growth, regional connectivity, and global competitiveness.
Reaching net zero aviation requires action from the aviation industry, and also from parallel industries in next generation fuels and carbon removals. We can deliver net zero aviation if we maintain the strong partnership between the aviation industry, parallel industries, and government.
Duncan McCourt, Chief Executive of Sustainable Aviation
