India proposes 1% SAF blend for international flights from 2027

By Grace Kim

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation proposes a 1% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blend for international departures from January 2027, rising to 20% by 2040. The proposal appears in the ministry’s Draft SAF Policy, 2026.

The draft remains a policy proposal, not a final regulation. If adopted, it would convert India’s previously indicative roadmap into enforceable obligations for airlines and oil marketing companies, although the supporting penalty and monitoring details remain unspecified.

What changes in 2027?

The draft divides implementation into two phases, with the first beginning in January 2027 and the second extending the mandate through 2040.

• January 2027: 1% SAF blending for international flights departing India.
• 2030: 5% SAF blending.
• 2040: 20% SAF blending.

On the proposed percentage basis, 1% means one part SAF in every 100-part blend, while 20% means one in five. The policy has a timetable. It does not yet have an enforcement rulebook.

The draft goes beyond the government’s earlier indicative milestones of 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% in 2030 for international flights. Its main expansion is the proposed 20% endpoint in 2040.

The phased schedule gives producers and operators time to add production capacity, feedstock access, supply chains and airport infrastructure. That allowance is practical, not proof that the supply will arrive.

Who would be penalized?

Airlines and oil marketing companies (OMCs) could face penalties for failing to meet the proposed blending requirements, according to the Draft SAF Policy, 2026. The draft does not specify penalty amounts, the calculation method or the procedure for determining non-compliance.

Airlines would need access to sufficient eligible SAF, while OMCs would have to ensure fuel production, blending and supply meet the required specifications. The final text must decide how responsibility runs among carriers, fuel producers and suppliers, and how officials will monitor purchases.

Until those answers exist, neither the 1% obligation nor the later targets can be treated as enforceable. No individual airline, OMC or airport is identified, and the draft provides no fuel-volume or spending cap with which to calculate company-level exposure.

Why require 90% fuel uplift?

The draft would require domestic and international airlines to uplift at least 90% of annual aviation turbine fuel (ATF) requirements from international airports in India. In practical terms, at least nine of every 10 units of annual ATF purchases would occur within that airport network.

The provision targets what the draft calls “economic tankering”: carrying extra fuel from a cheaper airport to avoid buying more at a higher-priced destination. The practice can save an airline money, but it can also affect fuel demand and airport operations at the destination.

Implementation would depend on the final policy and its method for monitoring annual purchases. The 90% rule therefore sits in the same legal category as the blend mandate: proposed, measurable, but not yet operative.

Who must build the fuel chain?

Airports would need SAF storage, handling and distribution infrastructure, and would have to coordinate with OMCs on fuel logistics and blending. The draft assigns duties across the supply chain rather than placing the entire burden on airlines.

SAF is a renewable alternative to petroleum-based ATF, produced from feedstocks including used cooking oil, agricultural and biogenic residues, crops and other waste. It becomes aviation-grade hydrocarbons for blending with conventional jet fuel only when the applicable technical and sustainability requirements are met.

Those requirements will determine whether a fuel batch qualifies for the proposed chain. Storage, handling, distribution and blending cannot be separated from fuel quality at the airport, and the draft makes infrastructure readiness a condition for wider use.

What is already regulated?

In April 2026, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas amended the Aviation Turbine Fuel Control Order to bring SAF blended with ATF within its scope. The government said SAF must meet “the relevant quality specifications” and, where applicable, the sustainability criteria for recognition as a CORSIA-eligible fuel.

That amendment establishes a regulatory pathway. It does not confirm output from any named production facility or supplier, and it is not evidence that eligible SAF is already available at commercial scale.

How would CORSIA affect airline costs?

India must participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s mandatory phase of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA, from 2027. The global framework addresses aviation’s growing emissions, requiring airlines to offset emissions above an applicable baseline.

Eligible SAF can reduce lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions compared with conventional aviation fuel, depending on feedstock and production pathway. Under CORSIA, that reduction can also lower an airline’s offsetting requirement, although the draft provides no company-specific saving.

Can supply and price meet the schedule?

The 20% target requires sufficient eligible SAF at the required quality and price. Production capacity, feedstock availability, certification and distribution infrastructure will constrain the pace, according to the policy’s implementation analysis.

SAF has generally been more expensive to produce than conventional aviation fuel. Whether that premium reaches ticket prices depends on production economics, supply arrangements and the final regulatory framework; the draft supplies no formula for allocation.

The government has said it wants to encourage SAF adoption while limiting the burden on airlines and passengers. Public-sector oil companies are working on pilot and commercial-scale projects, including standalone plants and refinery co-processing, but no capacity or delivery schedule accompanies those projects.

The final rules must specify blending obligations, penalties, monitoring and responsibility for each participant. Until they do, 20% by 2040 is a policy ambition, not a demonstrated supply plan.