Sustainability in Aviation

Sustainable Aviation Fuel, often referred to as SAF, is precisely what it means. There have been increasingly more conversations regarding SAF and its benefits for the aviation industry. The aviation industry is known to be one of the most significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (World Wildlife Fund, n.d.). One research shows that global aviation emissions in 2023 alone added up to 820 million metric tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere (Tiseo, 2024a). Numerous airlines have already set goals for switching to SAF, as seen with United’s Flight Fund and Virgin Atlantic Airways’ Flight 100 (United, 2023b) (Virgin Atlantic Airways, 2023). Virgin stated that the SAF blend used for Flight 100 removed around 70% of flight carbon dioxide emissions (Virgin Atlantic Airways, 2023).

United plans to have net-zero emissions by 2050 (United 2023a). The airline has already shown to the public that it is acting upon its initiatives, as the International Civil Aviation Organization reports that United has made the most purchases of SAF compared to every other airline worldwide (ICAO, 2024). Along with United's goal, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is attempting to make aviation more sustainable by the same 2050 deadline (Federal Aviation Administration, 2024b). Along with sustainability goals for airlines, the FAA is enacting new approach procedures to improve the efficiency of each flight's approach phase, also simplifying navigation (Federal Aviation Administration, 2024a). Following suit with the FAA, the United States Department of Energy stated that domestic consumption goals for SAF are three billion gallons by 2030 and 35 billion gallons of consumption by 2050 (United States, n.d.). Along with the “net-zero by 2050” goals for United and the FAA is the concept of electric or hybrid aircraft. United has partnered with Heart Aerospace since 2021, and Heart has begun developing 30-passenger electric/hybrid aircraft models (United, 2021)(Heart Aerospace, n.d.). Aviation is known for its pollution, but the initiatives and actions that have taken place will help the industry become more sustainable for the environment.