Singapore ‘remains firmly committed to aviation decarbonisation’, says director-general Han Kok Juan

[SINGAPORE] The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Wednesday (Mar 25) said it will defer the implementation of the sustainable aviation fuel levy.

The decision was made in view of the “impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on airlines and passengers”, the authority said.

The levy will now apply to tickets and services sold from Oct 1, for flights departing from Jan 1, 2027. It was previously announced that the levy would kick in for tickets and services sold from Apr 1, for flights departing from Oct 1.

CAAS said the levy will apply to “all origin-destination passengers, origin-destination cargo shipments, and general and business aviation flights departing Singapore”.

The deferment also means that Singapore’s target to have sustainable aviation fuel account for 1 per cent of all aviation fuel used will apply from 2027. CAAS said that it still intends to raise this target to between 3 and 5 per cent by 2030, subject to “global developments and the wider availability and adoption” of the fuel.

A voluntary trial announced by the Singapore Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company in February to test the Republic’s national procurement system for the fuel will continue as planned, the authority added.

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Han Kok Juan, director-general of CAAS, said that Singapore “remains firmly committed to aviation decarbonisation”.

“We are taking a pragmatic pause in view of the current situation,” he explained. “We will continue to work closely with our aviation industry partners and monitor global developments.”

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