The airline industry, which plays an essential role in delivering value to the economy, has a significant opportunity to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Collaboration across the value chain, as well as with regulators and governments, is imperative to drive progress in the industry on operational decisions, fuel purchasing and forward commitments that drive innovation. Atlas is committed to playing a leading role in this effort, and our teams are involved in a number of key initiatives:
Atlas is committed to advancing efforts to support growing demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) among our customers, and we have established partnerships across our value chain to advance SAF use. We collaborate with industry partners such as the Sustainable Engine Alliance, Smart Freight Centre and the SAF Coalition to accelerate adoption, advocate for supportive policies and drive investment in sustainable fuel production.
Our Government Affairs and Public Policy team works in partnership with organizations across the aviation sector to advocate for policies that aim to increase the availability and affordability of SAF. We continued our commitment to using SAF with our customer Inditex on flights departing from Zaragoza Airport in Spain, becoming the first cargo airline to use SAF regularly in the country in 2024.
Atlas also partners with organizations across the aviation sector to advocate for policies that will help us meet our climate-related goals. We are active in the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Institute (CAAFI), a public-private partnership with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that aims to increase the production of SAF.
Governments play an important role in setting clear standards that will support SAF generation and adoption, making it scalable for widespread commercial use. Our advocacy for SAF includes seeking tax credits, grants and loan guarantees at the federal and state levels of government to increase production.
In 2024, we partnered with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to secure a grant supporting a feasibility study to provide SAF to air carriers that rely on Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. In addition, we worked with the bipartisan Congressional Sustainable Aviation Caucus, dedicated to the use of SAF and other energy solutions that will help the industry transition to a more sustainable future.
In Kentucky, where we have a global operations center near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (the seventh-largest cargo airport in North America), Atlas joined with key partners, airlines and airports to form the Kentucky Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition. The coalition’s goal is to encourage the state to lead SAF production by leveraging the state’s reputation as an aviation powerhouse and leader in innovation to spur investment. Through the coalition, we are collaborating with state organizations to identify opportunities to further SAF production, which could include investing in technologies to convert municipal waste and hydrogen into new fuel alternatives.
