Singapore SAF Levy To Raise Air Ticket Prices

From October 1, 2026, every passenger departing Singapore will pay a new Sustainable Aviation Fuel levy on their ticket, making the city state one of the first countries to turn green aviation goals into a direct line item on airfares. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore will apply the charge to tickets and services sold from April 1, 2026, with rates that scale by distance and cabin class and are collected by airlines as a separate fee. For most economy travellers the amounts are small, but premium cabins and long haul itineraries will see the highest charges.

Singapore's Sustainable Aviation Fuel Levy

Under the new policy, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel, SAF, levy applies to all origin destination passengers, cargo shipments, and general and business aviation flights departing Singapore, covering both Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Seletar Airport. The fee will only apply to flights leaving Singapore on or after October 1, 2026, and only if the ticket or service is sold on or after April 1, 2026.

For passenger tickets, Singapore divides every destination into four geographical bands based on distance. Band I covers Southeast Asia, Band II covers Northeast Asia, South Asia, Australia, and Papua New Guinea, Band III covers Africa, Central and West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, and New Zealand, and Band IV covers the Americas.

Charges are set per passenger and depend on both band and cabin. In the Economy Cabin, which includes economy and premium economy, the levy runs from S$ 1.00 (SGD), about $ 0.75 (USD), on short Southeast Asia routes up to S$ 10.40 (SGD), about $ 7.70 (USD), on long haul flights to the Americas. In the Premium Cabin, which covers business and first class, the levy is four times the economy rate in each band, from S$ 4.00 (SGD), about $ 3.00 (USD), up to S$ 41.60 (SGD), about $ 31.00 (USD).

In practical terms, an economy passenger flying from Singapore to Bangkok will pay a S$ 1.00 levy, one to Tokyo will pay S$ 2.80, one to London will pay S$ 6.40, and one to New York will pay S$ 10.40. Premium cabins on those same routes will pay S$ 4.00, S$ 11.20, S$ 25.60, and S$ 41.60 respectively.

The levy is applied only to origin destination passengers, meaning those whose journey starts in Singapore and ends in another city. Travellers transiting through Singapore, for example on a through ticket from Sydney, Australia, to London, United Kingdom, via Singapore, will not pay the levy on the Singapore segment. For multi stop itineraries that originate in Singapore, the charge is based only on the immediate next destination, so a ticket from Singapore to Paris with a layover in Amsterdam attracts the levy only on the Singapore to Amsterdam leg.

Airlines are responsible for collecting the levy and must display it as a distinct line item on the air ticket. Certain flights, including training flights and flights for charitable or humanitarian purposes, will be exempt from the charge.

Latest Developments

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore confirmed the final SAF levy structure on November 10, 2025, after earlier estimates had suggested higher charges. The authority notes that initial projections put an economy ticket levy at about S$ 3.00 to Bangkok, S$ 6.00 to Tokyo, and S$ 16.00 to London, but lower prevailing SAF prices have allowed the final numbers to come in significantly below those rough figures.

Beyond passenger tickets, the policy also covers cargo and business aviation. Origin destination cargo shipments will pay a per kilogram levy that follows the same band structure as passenger flights, starting at S$ 0.01 (SGD) per kilogram within Southeast Asia and rising to S$ 0.15 (SGD) per kilogram for shipments to the Americas. General and business aviation flights will pay a per aircraft levy that scales by both distance band and aircraft size, with the largest aircraft in the longest band charged up to S$ 6,500 (SGD) per flight.

Levy proceeds will flow into a statutory SAF Fund managed by CAAS, and a dedicated entity, the Singapore Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company, will procure and allocate SAF and its environmental attributes on behalf of the air hub. The fund is ring fenced for SAF purchases, associated environmental attributes, and related administrative costs.

Analysis

Background, Singapore published its Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint in 2024, setting out a plan to reduce domestic airport emissions by 20 percent from 2019 levels by 2030 and to achieve net zero domestic and international aviation emissions by 2050. A core part of that plan is accelerating the use of sustainable aviation fuel, with a target to reach a one percent SAF blend in 2026 and then increase the share to between three and five percent by 2030, subject to global supply and cost conditions.

The SAF levy is designed as a fixed cost envelope that gives airlines price certainty on the premium for cleaner fuel while pooling demand at the air hub level. Rather than each airline trying to secure small volumes of SAF on its own, Singapore will aggregate the levy revenue and buy fuel and environmental attributes centrally, then allocate that value across participating carriers.

For travellers, the near term cost impact is real but modest on most economy tickets. A S$ 6.40 SAF charge on a Singapore to London economy fare is noticeable, yet small compared with typical long haul ticket prices that run into hundreds or thousands of dollars. The hit grows for premium cabins, where a S$ 41.60 levy on a long haul business or first class seat is more material but still unlikely to be the decisive factor in whether a trip proceeds.

The bigger question is how the levy evolves once Singapore moves beyond its initial one percent SAF target. If global SAF prices remain high and the country raises its blend rate to three to five percent by 2030, the fixed fee structure may need to be adjusted upward, which would push recurring costs higher for frequent flyers and corporate travel budgets. Travellers should watch for future announcements that update rates, bands, or exemptions as the programme matures.

Operationally, the rules reward simple point to point itineraries and make routing choices a little more nuanced. If your trip starts in Singapore, you will pay the levy on the first leg regardless of whether you route through Tokyo, Dubai, or another regional hub, because the charge is tied to the immediate next destination, not the final arrival point. If you only transit through Singapore on a through ticket, you are exempt, so connecting via Singapore rather than starting there does not add a SAF levy on top of your origin country's policies.

From a transparency standpoint, requiring airlines to display the SAF levy as a distinct line item is a meaningful change. It makes the cost of decarbonisation visible to passengers rather than burying it in base fares or fuel surcharges, which may support broader public debate about how to share the cost of cleaner aviation. It also gives corporate travel managers and sustainability teams a clearer data point when they account for the climate cost of their air travel portfolios.

Final thoughts

Singapore's SAF levy turns a high level sustainability pledge into specific numbers on tickets, signalling that the financial cost of cleaner aviation will increasingly be shared by travellers, shippers, and private aviation operators. For most economy passengers the new fee will be small, especially on regional routes, but it sets a precedent other hubs will study as they weigh their own paths toward net zero aviation. Travellers who depart Singapore from late 2026 onward should expect to see the SAF levy line appear on their tickets, plan for a modest extra charge, and pay attention to how the programme evolves as Singapore pushes toward higher SAF blends later in the decade.

Sources

• New Sustainable Aviation Fuel Levy to Apply from 1 April 2026 for Flights Departing From 1 October 2026
• Air travellers departing Singapore to pay sustainable aviation fuel levy of S$1 to S$41.60 per ticket
• Singapore reveals world's first green fuel tax on flights
• Singapore becomes the first country to impose a SAF levy on outbound flights
• Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint