Sustainable aviation fuel is scarce and expensive — that is the core problem the aviation industry faces as it purses decarbonisation targets, and it is the question Aerospace Global News has examined in a recent analysis.

The industry's framing of the issue is simple: airlines want SAF, regulators are pushing for it, but the fuel itself is not available in the quantities the sector needs, and what is available costs substantially more than conventional jet fuel.

Why does this gap persist? The question sits at the centre of the industry's net-zero commitments. Carriers across Europe, North America and Asia have signed offtake agreements for SAF, yet the volumes contracted remain a fraction of global jet fuel consumption. Production capacity, feedstock availability and refinery economics all constrain how much fuel reaches airports.

Cost is the second half of the problem. SAF carries a significant price premium over conventional Jet A-1, and that premium flows directly into airline operating costs at a time when margins remain thin. For network carriers and low-cost operators alike, each tonne of SAF purchased is a tonne bought above the market price of fossil jet fuel.

The scarcity and expense of SAF matter because the fuel is the industry's principal near-term lever for cutting lifecycle emissions. New aircraft效率 improvements and operational measures deliver incremental gains, but liquid fuel will power the overwhelming majority of flights for decades. If SAF stays scarce and expensive, airline climate commitments become harder — and more costly — to meet.

Aerospace Global News explores these dynamics in its analysis, examining why production has not scaled to meet stated demand and what that means for the sector. The full piece addresses the structural reasons behind the supply shortage and the price gap that airlines, producers and policymakers must close.

How quickly production capacity expands, and whether costs fall enough for SAF to compete with conventional jet fuel, will determine whether the industry's decarbonisation timetable holds.