Lufthansa has become the latest major European airline group to withdraw from takeover negotiations with Air Europa. The German group says that after "thorough analyses and intense negotiations, we have at this stage decided against further engaging in a capital contribution and shareholding in Air Europa". This follows a Reuters report that Air France-KLM's discussions with Air Europa had broken down, and appears to leave only Turkish Airlines still in takeover talks with the Spanish carrier. IAG had previously sought to take a majority stake but pulled back last year, citing regulators' competition concerns. It retains a 20% holding. The remainder is held by the family-owned Globalia.

Turkish Airlines is readying a binding offer for Spanish carrier Air Europa as it seeks control of its connections between Europe and Latin America. Speaking to investors as part of its second quarter results, Mehmet Fatih Korkmaz, Turkish Airlines' head of investor relations, revealed that it had already made a non-binding offer with talks continuing. "We are still very interested, we are preparing a binding offer very soon," he explained, referencing the need for any decision to be approved by shareholders. "We have not come to that stage yet. As soon as we have the board decision, we will provide it publicly." Turkish Airlines’ ambition to purchase Air Europa follows a failed bid by IAG, which pulled out of the process a year ago citing tough regulatory conditions. It continues to hold a 20% stake in the company, with the remainder controlled by family-owned Globalia. Meanwhile, Air France-KLM said last month that it was no longer in talks with Air Europa following its own interest in a bid, and on 6 August Lufthansa Group said that following "thorough analyses and intense negotiations" it had decided against making an offer for the airline "at this stage". Korkmaz explained that any bid for Air Europa would be in line with the carrier’s long-term strategic goal of generating value through "reasonable investment opportunities" that bring synergies. "Increasing collaboration through share purchases, codeshares, airline join-ventures are all serving the same purpose, to create value for Turkish Airlines," he says. He specifically cites Air Europa’s "very strong presence" between Europe and Latin America, in both passenger and cargo markets, plus collaborating in MRO, technology, seat production and loyalty programmes, adding that Turkish Airlines is "actively enquiring in finding partners where we can find our synergies".

The UK government has announced an investment of £63 million across 17 companies to accelerate the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The funding is awarded through the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF), which is a UK government initiative delivered by the Department for Transport to support the innovative fuel production technologies that can significantly reduce aviation emissions This latest allocation builds on previous successful rounds, bringing the total number of supported SAF initiatives to over 30. The newly funded projects highlight the technological diversity emerging in SAF production, with companies utilizing a wide array of feedstocks, from municipal waste and biogenic CO2 to sawmill residues and green hydrogen. All successful proposals are projected to achieve lifecycle emissions savings exceeding 65% compared to conventional fossil jet fuel, marking a significant step towards slashing flight emissions. Key recipients in the latest funding round include LanzaJet UK, which secured £10 million for Project Speedbird in Wilton, which will convert advanced bioethanol into SAF using ethanol-to-jet technology. “We’re proud that Project Speedbird, developed in partnership with British Airways, has been recognised by the Department for Transport as part of its continued commitment to advancing SAF in the UK,” said Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet. Alfanar Energy received £8 million for its Lighthouse Green Fuels facility in Stockton-on-Tees. The company is planning to use forestry residues processed via torrefaction, gasification, and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Carbon Neutral Fuels was awarded £6 million for a Workington-based plant that will leverage solid oxide electrolysis and captured CO2 to produce synthetic SAF. British Sugar was granted £2.6 million for its Wissington plant, which will transform sugar beet residue ethanol into SAF through ethanol-to-jet processes. Additional recipients include Essar Oil UK in Stanlow, Equinor Low Carbon UK, ETFuels, Zero Petroleum, the University of Sheffield and Altalto Ltd. Funding recipient OXCCU Tech has already developed a demonstration plant at Oxford Airport. “Support from the Advanced Fuels Fund is a key step in scaling our technology. It brings us closer to producing lower-cost, lower-carbon aviation fuel and supports the UK’s ambition to become a global leader in SAF production,” stated Andrew Symes, CEO and Co-Founder of OXCCU. The EU and the UK have set 2% introductory SAF blending mandate starting from 2025. The UK aims to increase SAF blending mandates to 22% in 2040, while the EU has set a target of achieving 70% SAF blending by 2050. Several types of SAF pathways are currently approved for use in international flights. These include hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), alcohol-to-jet (ATJ), Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, hydrothermolysis and microbial conversion. SAFs are aviation-specific biofuels produced from waste and residues from circular economy-based feedstocks such as animal fats, used cooking oils, etc. to reduce CO2 emissions from air transport. Synthetic fuels, also known as e-fuels, are another form of SAF. This article was first published by energy and chemicals information provider ICIS, which like Cirium is RELX-owned.