Swedish airports operator Swedavia is calling for the country’s new environmental aviation tax to be replaced with a mandatory requirement for fuel suppliers to provide a certain amount of biofuel to airlines.
Swedavia issued the call as it announced it would refuel aircraft at five of its airports with an alternative fuel derived from used cooking oil during December. Stockholm Arlanda, Stockholm Bromma, Gothenburg Landvetter, Visby and Lulea airports will use a 28% blend of the biofuel to refuel aircraft over the coming days.
The airports operator purchased the fuel from the Fly Green Fund. It was produced by World Energy and delivered by SkyNRG, in partnership with Shell.
A Swedavia spokesperson said the number of days covered by the refueling initiative will vary by airport. For instance, at Visby Airport, the spokesperson said the batch “will last at least through Christmas, possibly to the end of December.”
Swedavia’s aim is for 5% of all fuel used to refuel aircraft at its airports to be fossil-free by 2025.
Air travel “must be sustainable” and investment in biofuel is “essential” to make this happen, Swedavia CEO Jonas Abrahamsson said.
“We would, therefore, as an alternative to the aviation tax, welcome a government initiative that makes it compulsory for suppliers to supply a certain amount of biofuel, which will reduce the climate impact of air travel while also stimulating Swedish large-scale production,” he added.
The environmental levy, which came into effect April 1, applies to all commercial flights operated from Sweden by aircraft with more than 10 seats. The tax ranges from SEK60 ($6.70) to SEK400 per passenger, depending on the duration of the flight.
Despite only being introduced earlier this year, there are already signs the tax could be scrapped by an incoming Swedish government…
