Hong Kong is working to secure a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply chain as it moves to defend its position against rival Asian hubs, according to a South China Morning Post report.

What is at stake for the hub?

Hong Kong International Airport handled roughly 53 million passengers and around 4.5 million tonnes of cargo in 2023, according to Airport Authority Hong Kong annual figures cited in prior industry coverage. Cathay Pacific Airways, the city's flag carrier and dominant operator at Chek Lap Kok, frames its hub economics around long-haul connecting traffic that competes directly with Singapore Changi, Seoul Incheon and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. Each of those gateways has moved ahead of the territory on SAF availability, according to airline and fuel-industry disclosures tracked by IATA.

Why SAF supply matters for network planning

n Fuel availability feeds directly into airline network decisions. Carriers operating long-haul fleets — including the Boeing 777-9 and Airbus A350 families that anchor Cathay's widebody order book — increasingly factor SAF availability into scheduling and fleet-deployment choices. Without guaranteed offtake, operators face price premiums and inconsistent uplift at out-station hubs, eroding the cost case for new long-haul routes.

Cathay Pacific has previously committed to using SAF for 10% of its total fuel consumption by 2030, in line with the airline's corporate sustainability roadmap. Hong Kong's SAF mandate, which took effect in 2024, requires fuel suppliers to blend a rising share of SAF into Jet A-1 delivered at Chek Lap Kok.

What the supply challenge looks like

The SCMP report frames the issue as one of securing physical supply rather than policy direction. SAF feedstock — used cooking oil, agricultural residues and synthetic e-fuels — remains concentrated in a small number of producing regions, with refining capacity dominated by players including Neste, World Energy and a growing cohort of Asian converters. Import logistics and certification under the ASTM D7566 standard add further layers of cost.

For Hong Kong, the practical question is whether local blenders and import channels can deliver volumes at a price that keeps Cathay and its competitors competitive with Singapore, where the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has published a SAF roadmap targeting 3%–5% blends by 2030.

What to watch next

The next indicator will be whether Hong Kong's fuel suppliers publish multi-year offtake agreements with SAF producers, and whether the Civil Aviation Department finalises compliance rules under the city's SAF mandate. Cathay Pacific's 2025 emissions report, expected later this year, will provide the first full-year data on SAF uptake at Chek Lap Kok since the mandate took effect.