Oil crisis could boost struggling sustainable aviation fuel industry

As global oil prices rocket due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, traditional jet fuel has become hard to come by and has nearly doubled in price, leading airlines across much of the world to raise ticket prices or cancel flights. While greener fuels produced from plants or green hydrogen remain more expensive, the cost gap has narrowed and experts told Climate Home News that this could boost demand in the struggling sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry. Matt Ridley, sustainability and innovation director at the OneWorld airline alliance told Climate Home News that “higher jet fuel prices narrow the green premium, reinforcing the role of SAF in cutting lifecycle emissions while reducing exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets.” Marie Owens Thomsen, chief economist and sustainability lead at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade group for airlines, said the world is currently seeing “the highest jet fuel prices that we’ve ever had in the history of jet travel”. Jun 18, 2025 What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)? Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is seen as the main way to decarbonise air travel – but is it as green as its backers claim? Read more Jun 18, 2025 Aviation’s Green Dream Is the world’s big idea for greener air travel a flight of fancy? Suspicions of fraud, ‘ridiculous’ data and a dearth of supplies – our investigation exposes the flaws in the airline industry’s big green hope: sustainable aviation fuel Read more Jun 18, 2025 Aviation’s Green Dream Air travel’s ‘holy grail’: Jet fuel made from CO2 and water prepares for take-off Synthetic jet fuel companies think they have the answer to tackling aviation emissions despite concerns about the cost of producing energy-hungry e-SAF Read more The problem predates the war but has been worsened by it, she said, adding that as demand for oil-based products like diesel has declined because of the electrification of road transport,