The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to an increase in prices not only for aviation kerosene, but also for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Report's correspondent dispatched to Rio de Janeiro informs that Hemant Mistry, the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) director for energy transition, said this at a press conference held as part of IATA's 82nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit (WATS).
According to him, the situation has once again highlighted the importance of diversifying energy sources and strengthening energy security.
"SAF remains a key tool for decarbonizing the aviation industry. However, governments must now reconsider the role of renewable fuel in the energy mix in terms of supply resilience and security. At the same time, ensuring competitive pricing is extremely important," Mistry said.
He emphasized that following the rise in prices for conventional aviation fuel, SAF, whose production costs are not directly linked to the cost of fossil fuel, has also become more expensive.
"This creates a serious problem. At the stage of scaling up SAF production, it is necessary to prevent the price gap between sustainable and conventional fuel from widening further. Especially amid the current crisis and efforts to increase production volumes, it is important to make maximum use of opportunities to reduce this gap," the director for energy transition said.