European Commission : €100M-worth of ETS allowances to help airlines buy SAFs

The European adopted a Decision on the allocation of EU ETS emission allowances to airlines for the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in 2024 on 12/09/2025, it announced on 19/09/2025. This Decision and the allocated ETS allowances follow calculations by Member States authorities for commercial airlines.

This amendment to the EU ETS Directive introduces a dedicated support system to accelerate the use of SAFs by granting free EU ETS allowances for the uplift of these fuels. Starting in 2024, 20 million EU ETS allowances, worth around €1.5 billion (at an allowance price of €75), are set aside for this purpose. For the first year of application, 2024, the support amounts to about 1.3 million allowances, worth approximately €100 million, distributed between 53 operators, listed in the Decision.

The support system covers all or part of the price difference between fossil kerosene and the eligible SAFs used by individual commercial aircraft operators on their flights covered by effective carbon pricing through the EU ETS. This support comes on top of the EU ETS incentive for using…