With Gatwick Airport in our borough’s boundary the importance of the aviation industry to the prosperity of our local area is paramount.
This was highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic, where in recognition of the numbers of people in Crawley affected I established the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation, serving as Chair ever since to secure the recovery for the sector and its workers.
This must be done in a way recognising the environmental challenges we all face and enacting change to address these.
Earlier this year, I raised at Prime Minister’s Questions the importance of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This is crucial to securing the decarbonisation of long-haul aviation and the pathway to Jet Zero: net zero aviation by 2050.
In a House of Commons debate I secured last week I spoke in support of the Department for Transport confirming the SAF mandate to ensure 10 per cent of all jet fuel in flights taking off from this country comes from sustainable sources by 2030.
Once approved by Parliament, the UK SAF mandate will come into force in January 2025, and will stand as one of the first in the world to be enshrined into law.
The SAF mandate will deliver 10 per cent of all jet fuel in flights taking off from the UK from sustainable sources by 2030, and 22 per cent by 2040.
This is a positive step forward which recognises the importance of aviation and the measures to ensure its continued success in an environmentally responsible and commercially viable way.
It is estimated that the SAF industry will add more than £1.8 billion to the economy and create over 10,000 jobs nationwide.
The SAF mandate will increase demand for SAF in the UK, as well as securing emission reductions and providing investor confidence.
In the Commons I also supported the introduction of a revenue certainty mechanism to incentivise investment in British SAF production. Following assurances I received from the Prime Minister, the Government have launched a consultation on this scheme, which will remain open until 20th June.
Our aviation industry is an important asset and a vital part of the British economy. This includes for our exporters who rely on aviation for their continued success, and utilising the benefits and opportunities of going further and faster on decarbonising aviation to make the most of these economic gains.
By selling more high-value services in areas such as banking and architecture, in which we have a competitive advantage, we can see enhanced UK productivity and a boost to tax revenues, as well as raising the trend rate of growth.
To do so in a way which is sustainable must be the goal of all involved.
Henry Smith MP
