Delta Air Lines Inc. quietly scrubbed a pair of key environmental targets from its sustainability web page late last week.
The Atlanta-based carrier deleted its pledge to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for 10% of its jet fuel by 2030. It also rephrased its quest to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 as an “aspiration,” rather than a “goal.”
In a statement after publication, a Delta spokesperson said the carrier remained committed to its 2030 SAF goal. Delta said it still sees cleaner fuels as one of the most important ways to decarbonize flight, but its slow development threatens the industry’s climate ambitions. “While we have successfully increased use of SAF every year, we recognize that the technology has not advanced as rapidly as the industry or our ambitions require,” said the spokesperson.
Delta generated about 60 million tons of heat-trapping emissions in 2024. That’s equivalent to the entire climate footprint of Ireland or Hungary. Like most airlines, it has long touted sustainable jet fuel — made from feedstocks like animal fat or used cooking oil — as a critical lever to cut its emissions.
Delta first pledged five years ago to get 10% of its jet fuel from these alternative sources by 2030. “Travelers should not have to choose between seeing the world and saving the world,” Chief Executive Ed Bastian said at the time.
Many other carriers, including American Airlines Group Inc., Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd., have made similar commitments.
Progress, however, has been glacial. The growth in cleaner jet fuel is expected to slow substantially this year, according to the International Air Transport Assn. The trade group expects SAF will account for 0.8% of global airline fuel in 2026.
Delta’s overall SAF usage jumped more than six-fold in the last two years to 23 million gallons, but in 2025 it still accounted for only about 0.5% of total jet fuel used by the carrier.
Delta isn’t the first major airline to wobble on its environmental targets. Southwest Airlines Co. last year slashed most of its team working on sustainable fuels. It also added a disclaimer to its website detailing the myriad uncertainties around its own goal of reaching 10% SAF by 2030.
Air New Zealand Ltd., meanwhile, scrapped an ambitious carbon-reduction goal in 2024.
Elgin writes for Bloomberg.
