Why Aviation Sustainability Is Much Harder In Africa

African airlines pay 15% more for kerosene than other airlines around the world. With many struggling to stay afloat, how will they cope with the price premium of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)? And does Africa have a plan for net zero?

“Sadly, there is no SAF production in Africa. That must change, and I think it can change and change quickly,” IATA director general Willie Walsh told delegates at the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) annual general meeting in Cairo.

Walsh believes Africa has the people and natural resources needed to develop a world-leading SAF sector, creating African jobs and energy independence. But the catch is that regulators and financiers must play their part.

“African airlines cannot be left behind,” Ethiopian Airlines group CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele said. “The problem is today in Africa … there is still no production of SAF [at a] meaningful scale.”

In August, the Star Alliance carrier signed an MoU with sustainable fuels specialist Satarem America, forming a partnership for SAF production in Ethiopia, which the airline will uplift.

Bekele said Satarem aims to start SAF production at the airline’s Addis Ababa hub, home to nearly 50% of Ethiopian’s flight operations, within three years. “Our level of consumption of SAF will reach 6% after four or five years,” Bekele said.

In the meantime, Ethiopian is in talks with European fuel suppliers to comply with European Union (EU) SAF mandates.

Ethiopian has joined a government committee that is working to develop SAF policies. “The government has to be committed to facilitate companies to produce SAF in adequate quantities,” Bekele said.

Meanwhile, Nairobi-based SkyTeam carrier Kenya Airways has its own eco-ambitions.

“We understand that sustainability isn’t about achieving KPIs; it’s about engaging in a program that leads to the sustainability of the whole ecosystem,” the airline said.

Route optimization has been expanded to include more flights using advanced flight planning, fuel management and real-time weather to monitor individual aircraft performance. Maintenance changes are also expected to deliver a 3% fuel savings.

On the ground, Kenya Airways uses data to minimize inflight food waste and 12% of the airline’s ground equipment is electric-powered. By 2030, any remaining diesel-powered ground vehicles will be powered by synthetic diesel. This “pyro-diesel” is from plastic waste, manufactured by KQ Pride Energies’ Nairobi plant, which opened in 2024. The facility is already supplying around one-third of the airline’s ground equipment and vehicles, halving the emissions of traditional diesel.

Kenya Airways became the first African airline to operate a SAF-powered long-haul commercial flight to Europe in 2023 using fuel produced by Eni Sustainable Mobility.

“It is very difficult for us to get to 2050 [the industry’s carbon net zero goal] if we already have a shortage of aircraft in the first place. And then the most difficult challenge, in my opinion, is sustainable aviation fuel,” Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka said.

Kilavuka is aiming for 10% SAF use by 2030, which is higher than the EU’s 6% blending mandate for 2030. Kenya Airways’ next step will be to develop a local SAF supply. To that end, the airline has signed an MoU with the Bleriot SAF Consortium to create Kenya’s first SAF plant.

The Kwale SAF project will rehabilitate 1,000 acres of arid land that has been degraded by mining, creating around 12,000 local jobs. After the transition, which is expected to cost $5,000-$10,000 per hectare, the land will be used to grow soil-stabilizing plants and native trees with energy-rich seeds to boost Kenya’s tree cover and pave the way for SAF production by 2030. Kilavuka hopes the partnership will produce enough SAF for Kenya Airways’ own use, and to export to other countries.

Kilavuka estimates that net zero transition will increase the airline’s incremental costs by around $121.7 million each year. He calculated that SAF alone will cost around $100 million annually, adding roughly 15% to the airline’s overheads. This comes on top of the ICAO CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme compliance, which he estimates at $300,000 per year. “The bottom line is our costs are definitely going to go up,” Kilavuka said. “The last thing that is needed in Africa is additional cost.”

NO FRAMEWORK

“We don’t have a policy framework, definitely not in Kenya, and I’m almost sure not in Africa,” Kilavuka added. “There is no organized framework.” This is a gap that the African Union (AU) and AFRAA are looking to address.

The AU brings together 55 African member states. Since 2023, the AU Commission has been working on a continental strategy for SAF deployment within Africa. AU Commission senior policy transport officer Ada Allogo Raissa said work was “ongoing” on this SAF roadmap.

“Can we establish an African common position for sustainable aviation fuel?” she asked. “In Africa, we have the natural resources, which means that we have the potential. But where is the production? How are we going to build it? It’s very expensive, so we need guidance from you [the African aviation industry]. Can we have a common position?”

But some member states are complaining that the roadmap was taking too long and only seven of 55 AU states have joined the initiative.

ACI Africa strategy & business development director Romesh Bhoyroo noted that 37 African airports are pushing ahead with their own operationalization by signing up for ACI’s airport carbon accreditation program. “Are we happy with that? Obviously, no,” he said. “Some of the bigger players on the continent have not embarked on the airport carbon accreditation program or are at a very early stage of reducing or eliminating carbon emissions.” He named Egypt, Morocco and South Africa, and said it was “high time” for governments and airports to commit to net-zero actions.

Sustainability metrics are also becoming more important in securing airport finance, so ACI is launching an ESG reporting framework this year. “We will be data-testing this framework from March 2025 and some of the African airports will be part of this pilot phase,” Bhoyroo said, urging more airports to join both initiatives.

Meanwhile, AFRAA, which represents 50 African carriers, is developing a CO₂ reduction roadmap for African airlines. An initial draft of the association’s net zero strategy was circulated in November 2024 and is scheduled to be finalized by May 2025.

“Now, we are getting input from our members, because many of them already have roadmaps, so we want to align and have a common position,” AFRAA secretary general Abderahmane Berthe said.

Embraer airline marketing manager Claire Bensahmoun posed the question why fuel was even more expensive in Africa than anywhere else in the world?

“One of the main reasons for that is simply because the refinery capabilities on the continents are limited, and African airlines need to import the fuel from abroad. That is what’s making it very expensive. If we fall into the same trap again with SAF, that will become even worse,” Bensahmoun warned.