The chief executives of Airlines for Europe’s 16 member groups — including IAG, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, easyJet, and Ryanair — issued a collective CEO Declaration on 19 March 2026 accepting the EU’s 6% SAF blending target for 2030 but demanding the 0.7% eSAF sub-mandate be postponed, citing the complete absence of final investment decisions on any eSAF production facility worldwide.
The declaration, issued at A4E’s annual leadership meeting in Brussels, marks the first time Europe’s major carriers have formally drawn a collective line on the eSAF sub-mandate at CEO level. It positions the industry as willing to live with the broader SAF target — “provided that SAF prices drop significantly” — while treating the eSAF requirement as a mandate without a supply chain behind it. With the European Commission expected to issue EU ETS review proposals in July 2026, the declaration is timed to land before the legislative window opens.
A4E’s cost data anchors the declaration. Annual regulatory costs for its member airlines have tripled since 2014 to €15.5 billion ($17.8 billion) and are on track to reach €27.6 billion per year by 2030. “EU airlines and passengers cannot keep absorbing ever-growing regulatory and cost burdens,” the CEOs stated. Those numbers frame the context in which A4E is asking regulators to reconsider whether a fuel sub-mandate with no production base yet makes sense to enforce on schedule.
“In these circumstances, the 2030 eSAF sub-mandate must be postponed until eSAF is sufficiently available and affordable, and the regulatory framework is redesigned to support diverse, affordable production pathways.” — Airlines for Europe CEO Declaration, 19 March 2026
easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis was direct at the Brussels meeting: “We are calling for the eSAF mandate to be postponed until eSAF is actually available.” The A4E position is that there is currently no FID on any eSAF facility in Europe, making a 2030 compliance deadline structurally unenforceable in practice — a reality the European Commission has already acknowledged by signalling it will not enforce the sub-mandate even as the legal text remains on the books.
The backdrop accelerating the push is the ongoing Iran war fuel shock. IATA’s jet fuel monitor shows kerosene up 94% against its annual average at the end of last week, with Gulf airspace disruptions forcing reroutes across the industry. Lufthansa added 40 flights to Asian routes to compensate for Gulf airspace closures. As jet fuel costs surge, the case for SAF as a price-stable alternative has sharpened — but the fuel shock also deepens resistance to any mandate layer that adds cost without available supply. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said if the fuel price increases “drag on for six months” it would become a serious issue for airlines.
On carbon pricing, A4E was equally firm. The declaration calls for EU ETS not to be extended to all departing flights from the EU, arguing instead that “the EU must work towards strengthening CORSIA to make it the only carbon pricing system globally.” Environmental groups are pressing for ETS extension to all international departures; the July ETS review proposals will be the first test of which direction the Commission moves.
The eSAF investment gap that A4E is pointing to will require industrial-scale financing commitments to close. The EU’s €75 billion investment strategy, which puts SMR financing on the table for the first time, represents one potential supply-side lever — but that timeline does not align with the 2030 eSAF sub-mandate either. The industry’s formal ask is now on record: fix the supply side first, then enforce the mandate.
Source: FlightGlobal
