One key airline initiative is a blanket flight levy to support the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Derived from renewable sources – including agricultural residue and waste oils – it can result in 80 per cent less emissions than fossil fuels.
Such fuel will be a “critical pathway for decarbonisation”, said CAAS. It is expected to eventually contribute some 65 per cent of the carbon reduction required for the 2050 goal.
However, its supply is limited as it costs three to five times more than normal jet fuel and only makes up 1 per cent of current global aviation fuel demand.
To create a more resilient and affordable supply of SAF, CAAS will place a levy to be paid by passengers with the revenue collected going toward supporting SAF purchases.
For 2026, the levy quantum will be set based on the volume of SAF that could supply 1 per cent of flights from Singapore, as well as the fuel’s projected price then.
Depending on SAF availability and adoption, the longer-term goal is for levy revenue to cover SAF use for 3 to 5 per cent of flights by 2030.
The levy will vary by distance and class of travel. CAAS estimates the 2026 SAF levies for a direct, economy class flight from Singapore to Bangkok, Tokyo and London to be S$3, S$6 and S$18 respectively.
As SAF supply is limited and the market is “very nascent”, its price fluctuates more than conventional jet fuel. There is no global price index or futures markets that could allow for price risk management.
A percentage-based approach reduces price fluctuations that could result from a volume-dictated approach, said CAAS.
A second initiative is using the levy revenue to centrally purchase SAF, which lets Singapore “aggregate demand and reap economies of scale”, said CAAS. Businesses or organisations will then purchase SAF from the government.
More details, including whether the levy is payable by departing or arriving passengers, how often it will be adjusted and its exact implementation, will be announced in 2025.
Airports and air traffic management
Five of the initiatives aim to reduce energy use at Singapore’s airports.
These include deploying more solar power on rooftops and possibly sections of the airfields, as well as using clean vehicles such as those that run on electricity or biodiesel, with trials of hydrogen-powered vehicles too.
Three other initiatives aim to improve the efficiency of air traffic management and thus reduce airplanes’ fuel use.
This will be through new solutions such as long-range air traffic flow management, which involves coordinating longer flights across different regions, and trajectory-based operations, which involve more accurate flight paths and tracking of aircraft.
Apart from the 12 initiatives, the Blueprint highlights moves in five supporting areas: policy, industry development, infrastructure, workforce transformation and international collaboration.
These include the existing S$50 million Aviation Sustainability Programme to fund related projects, support for new sustainability-related employment opportunities, and regional cooperation to establish an Asia-Pacific sustainable aviation centre.
