KLM aircraft during the night at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport AMS
Following the publication of an independent advisory report on the Netherlands’ future, KLM has issued a statement calling for the country’s government to invest in a national sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) fund, which would enable the Netherlands to accelerate the production of alternative fuels and reduce emissions.
In a statement on December 12, 2025, KLM, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, said it endorsed the report’s conclusions, including the importance of aviation in safeguarding the country’s prosperity and innovative ecosystem.
“Aviation and Schiphol are crucial to our economic strength: they connect the Netherlands to the world and are essential for trade, employment, and our international competitiveness.”
As such, stakeholders must invest in a future-proof aviation sector rather than undermine it with, for example, additional charges and/or taxes. Growing taxes would only negatively impact the Netherlands’ competitiveness and the country’s global connectivity, KLM warned.
While KLM noted that it has been investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft, as well as SAF, which is “one of the most effective means of reducing aviation CO2 emissions,” to achieve the goal of blending 14% of SAF by 2030, “alternative fuels must become more affordable and widely available.”
Like with wind and solar energy, government investment can make a difference in securing the future supply of SAF, the Dutch airline added.
Marjan Rintel, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KLM, reiterated that the airline supported the report’s conclusions. Called the ‘Wennink report,’ which was ordered by the country’s caretaker government in September, it focused on the state of the Netherlands’ economy.
In his foreword, Peter Wennink, the former CEO of ASML, famous for its role in making computer chips, warned that while the Netherlands is “a wonderful country” with “smart people, strong businesses, and a society where we care for each other,” the foundations are starting to crumble. “If we do not take action, our quality of life will decline rapidly.”
The report, in Dutch, is available in full here.
Nevertheless, Rintel added that to accelerate the country’s sustainability efforts, the Dutch government must invest, noting that a national SAF fund would enable cooperation to drive change.
“Now is the moment to position the Netherlands as a leader in sustainable aviation.”
KLM concluded that a national SAF fund should focus on three things.
First, it would have to make SAF affordable for airlines, bridging the gap between alternative and fossil fuels. “Based on current prices, an annual investment of €60 million [$70.3 million] could already deliver an additional 1% SAF blend.”
Second, the fund would need to focus on accelerating production, including access to raw materials for SAF and the removal of barriers to the development of SAF infrastructure. This would allow the country to significantly progress in scaling up the production of environmentally friendly fuels.
Lastly, KLM said that investing in the development of next-generation (e)SAF technologies could help the Netherlands cement its position as the leading country in European innovation initiatives.
“The national SAF fund could be financed through the revenues from the existing Dutch aviation tax,” KLM stated.
Currently, the Netherlands has a plan to increase its aviation taxes, adopting a similar, distance-based approach used by the United Kingdom, for example. From January 1, 2027, the country would apply a €29.40 ($34.47) per-passenger levy on short-haul flights to destinations within the European Union (EU) or for itineraries up to 2,000 kilometers (1,079 nautical miles) from Amsterdam.
Medium-haul journeys of between 2,001 km and 5,000 km (2,699 NM) would have a per-passenger tax of €47.24 ($55.39), while long-haul departures would be taxed at €70.86 ($83.09).
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