Regional airlines sound alarm as fuel suppliers miss SAF documentation deadline

The European Regions Airline Association (ERA) is raising urgent concerns after the 14 February deadline for fuel suppliers to provide Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) documentation to aircraft operators, passed amid widespread reports from members of missing, delayed or inconsistent information. 

ERA members across Europe warn that gaps in the required certification risk undermining their ability to comply with EU rules and access vital Emissions Trading System (ETS) incentives linked to the uptake of SAF. 

Under the ReFuelEU Aviation mandate, fuel suppliers must provide SAF certificates to airlines. These certificates contain the technical data required to verify SAF use, submit reports to national authorities and claim ETS allowances designed to help bridge the significant price gap between conventional jet fuel and SAF, which can cost up to ten times more. 

“ERA members have acted in good faith and are fully committed to meeting their environmental obligations,” said Montserrat Barriga, Director General of ERA. “But without timely, accurate and harmonised documentation from fuel suppliers, airlines face a direct barrier between compliance and the financial support that makes SAF uptake possible. The ETS allowances reserved for SAF are not a bonus, they are essential to help close the price gap. Delays and inconsistencies at supplier level put millions of euros at risk and leave airlines penalised for delays they did not cause.” 

“This first year of implementation is a real test for the entire SAF system,” Barriga added. “If Europe wants airlines to scale up SAF use, the administrative framework must work in practice, not just on paper. Regional airlines cannot be left carrying the consequences of bottlenecks elsewhere in the supply chain.” 

While fuel suppliers may legally provide documentation up until the final regulatory deadline, leaving delivery to the last moment places airlines in an impossible position. Operators must compile, verify and submit detailed data to accredited independent verifiers and national authorities a process that requires time, clarity and consistency. 

ERA is therefore calling for: 

• Immediate provision of complete and standardised SAF documentation to airlines. 

• Greater alignment of reporting metrics and units across suppliers and Member States. 

• A more practical and predictable documentation timeline, including consideration of more regular data provision to ensure smoother compliance in future reporting cycles.