Interview with Eddie Wilson, CEO Ryanair DAC – “Sustainable aviation fuel is the key”
In this short, five-minute interview, Eddie Wilson, CEO Ryanair DAC said it loud and clear: airlines need affordable sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to maintain the industry and our economies need the aviation industry.
Eddie singled out SAF as a tangible, viable solution to curbing aircraft emissions. Explaining what he believes must happen for airlines to meet the net zero by 2050 target, Eddie discussed the need for governments to encourage energy companies to invest, the establishment of common policies on feedstock, and pushing SAF prices down to an affordable level.
Within the interview, the Ryanair DAC CEO packed in his decisive views on sustainability touching on technology, efficient aircraft, government incentives, and more.
This is the full list of questions asked in the interview:
- Is Ryanair where it needs to be to achieve the net zero by 2050 targets?
- What role will technology play in reaching these targets?
- What are the most exciting developments we can look forward to within the industry in the next few years?
SAF in Ryanair’s sustainability policy
Ryanair is the fifth largest airline operator in the world and calls itself the “greenest and cleanest airline in Europe”. The airline has officially pledged to meet net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and SAF plays a substantial role in these plans. Mapping out its sustainability journey, Ryanair plans to use 12.5 per-cent SAF by 2030 as well as invest $22 billion in greener aircraft.
In September 2022 the airline announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OMW to buy 160,000 tons of SAF over the course of eight years. This is estimated to save over 400,000 tons of carbon emissions. The largest airline in Europe also announced their partnership with Neste in April 2022, planning to power one third of flights at Schiphol Airport with 40 per-cent SAF blend.
For more information on SAF within the industry read Three landmark SAF deals in two weeks.
