‘No proposal to blend ethanol with ATF’: Aviation minister Kinjarapu on Kejriwal’s claims
Ethanol and SAF are entirely different and should not be conflated, said Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu.
- Aug 6, 2026,
- Updated Aug 6, 2026 3:34 PM IST
There is no proposal to blend ethanol with aviation turbine fuel (ATF), said Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu. His post was in response to Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, who said that sources informed him the government was planning to mix ethanol with ATF.
“The claim that the Government plans to blend ethanol with Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) is completely false and irresponsible. There is no such proposal. Ethanol and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) are entirely different and should not be conflated. SAF is an internationally certified aviation fuel recognised by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and adopted globally. It undergoes rigorous testing and meets stringent global safety standards,” he said, something that BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya had also tweeted.
Kinjarapu said spreading such misinformation will only spread panic among air travellers.
Kejriwal had said if ethanol is blended in ATF the airplane engine “might just stop in the air”. He asked who would risk flying like that.
His tweets kickstarted an argument with Malviya, who made the distinction between ethanol blended ATF and SAF. “SAF is not raw ethanol. It is aviation-grade fuel produced through advanced processing that is chemically similar to conventional ATF and is fully compatible with aircraft engines,” he added.
However, it must be mentioned that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) mandates sustainable aviation fuel for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). There is a mixing threshold for each country and for India it kicks in at 1 per cent blending with ATF from 2027 onwards. OMCs have already set up plants for ethanol blended ATF.
India had amended the Aviation Turbine Fuel (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001, under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, that would allow the blending of ethanol and other synthetic or man-made hydrocarbons in ATF but had not set any immediate mandatory blending targets. The amendments were done keeping in mind the aim to lower emissions and reducing reliance on the imports of oil.
There is no proposal to blend ethanol with aviation turbine fuel (ATF), said Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu. His post was in response to Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, who said that sources informed him the government was planning to mix ethanol with ATF.
“The claim that the Government plans to blend ethanol with Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) is completely false and irresponsible. There is no such proposal. Ethanol and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) are entirely different and should not be conflated. SAF is an internationally certified aviation fuel recognised by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and adopted globally. It undergoes rigorous testing and meets stringent global safety standards,” he said, something that BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya had also tweeted.
Kinjarapu said spreading such misinformation will only spread panic among air travellers.
Kejriwal had said if ethanol is blended in ATF the airplane engine “might just stop in the air”. He asked who would risk flying like that.
His tweets kickstarted an argument with Malviya, who made the distinction between ethanol blended ATF and SAF. “SAF is not raw ethanol. It is aviation-grade fuel produced through advanced processing that is chemically similar to conventional ATF and is fully compatible with aircraft engines,” he added.
However, it must be mentioned that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) mandates sustainable aviation fuel for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). There is a mixing threshold for each country and for India it kicks in at 1 per cent blending with ATF from 2027 onwards. OMCs have already set up plants for ethanol blended ATF.
India had amended the Aviation Turbine Fuel (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001, under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, that would allow the blending of ethanol and other synthetic or man-made hydrocarbons in ATF but had not set any immediate mandatory blending targets. The amendments were done keeping in mind the aim to lower emissions and reducing reliance on the imports of oil.