Singapore's SAF Levy Goes Live in April — Every Departing Flight Now Has a Green Fuel Price Tag

SAFCo, the government-owned non-profit set up to buy fuel in bulk, turns Singapore into the world's first airport hub with a universal SAF surcharge.

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SAFpath News Desk

March 18, 2026

Image Source: SAF Path

Summary: Singapore will begin collecting a sustainable aviation fuel levy on all tickets sold from April 1, 2026, for flights departing Changi and Seletar airports from October 1 — making it the first country in the world to impose a blanket SAF surcharge on all outbound aviation. The levy ranges from S$1 to S$41.60 per passenger depending on destination and cabin class, and feeds a fixed-cost pool managed by SAFCo, a government-owned non-profit. Singapore is targeting a 1% SAF uplift in 2026, rising to 3–5% by 2030.

Singapore will begin charging passengers a sustainable aviation fuel levy on all flights departing Changi and Seletar airports from October 1, 2026, on tickets sold from April 1 — making it the first country in the world to impose a blanket SAF surcharge on every departing flight. The levy, announced by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in November 2025, ranges from S$1 to S$41.60 per passenger, depending on destination and cabin class.

The funds feed SAFCo, a government-owned non-profit established in late 2025 to manage bulk procurement and distribution of SAF across Singapore’s airports. SAFCo operates on a fixed-cost envelope model: the levy rate is set to achieve the 1% SAF uplift target, and remains fixed unless the target changes. Singapore is targeting 3–5% by 2030, at which point the levy would be recalibrated.

“Singapore is the first in the world to impose a blanket levy on all departing flights, with the funds going towards bulk procurement of SAF.” — Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore

The levy is structured across four geographical bands by distance. Economy or premium economy passengers pay S$1 for Southeast Asia travel (Band 1), S$2.80 to Northeast or South Asia (Band 2), S$6.40 to Europe, Middle East, or Africa (Band 3), and S$10.40 to the Americas (Band 4). Business and first-class passengers pay four times those amounts in each band, with a ceiling of S$41.60 for transatlantic travel. The cargo levy is charged to shippers, not operators, at rates such as S$0.04 per kilogram to Northeast or South Asia.

Levy rates came in below the CAAS’s 2024 forecasts. Han Kok Juan, CAAS Director-General, attributed this to SAF prices having “moderated” since original estimates were made. Transit passengers, training flights, and humanitarian flights are excluded.

Airlines must show the levy as a distinct line item on each ticket. The timing — tickets from April 1, flights from October 1 — was designed following industry feedback to allow carriers and passengers time to adjust.

The commercial implications are significant. Changi handles over 65 million passengers annually and is the primary connecting hub for much of Southeast and South Asia. A universal SAF charge that applies to all carriers using the airport regardless of their home country’s policies extends Singapore’s green aviation framework far beyond its own flag carrier. Every airline connecting through Changi — whether from Europe, the Middle East, or North Asia — now operates inside Singapore’s SAF mandate by default.

Source: FlightGlobal, 10 November 2025

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