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SAFAPAC26 Interview:
Thailand's SAF Roadmap and Path to Regional Synergy
In this onsite interview, Dr. Pongpat Thiensiri, Deputy Director General of Thailand's Civil Aviation Authority (CAAT), shared how Thailand is building commercial-scale adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) — and why the roadmap's real test lies not in the fuel itself, but in getting every player, at home and across the region, to move in the same direction.
Dr. Pongpat noted that Thailand's SAF road map has stayed on course despite three changes of prime minister, built through voluntary participation from Thai airlines, feedstock providers, and the Ministry of Energy. He was candid that many airlines initially viewed SAF adoption as a burden rather than the future of aviation — a mindset the roadmap addresses by starting small, with 1% blending that keeps the operational and financial impact manageable while shifting the industry's view toward the long term.
That same shift in mindset, he said, extends beyond Thailand's borders. Dr. Pongpat acknowledged it was tough at first to move Thai companies away from viewing neighbouring markets like Singapore and Malaysia as competitors, working instead to reframe the relationship around synergies — including enlisting SET-listed companies to help build awareness of Thailand's SAF ambitions. Looking to 2027, he pointed to concrete partnerships — potentially through MOUs on feedstock and technical assistance with countries across Southeast Asia and Oceania — as the single factor that would most accelerate progress toward that regional synergy.
Editor's Notes
In this episode, we discuss…
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Why Thailand's SAF road map has held steady through three changes of prime minister
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The domestic challenge: shifting airlines from seeing SAF as a burden to embracing it as aviation's future
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Why starting small — with 1% blending — matters for building industry buy-in
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The regional challenge: turning competition with neighbours like Singapore and Malaysia into synergy
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The role Thailand's stock exchange plays in building industry-wide awareness
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What Dr. Pongpat sees as the single biggest accelerator for 2027: concrete cross-border SAF partnerships
Insights Brought to You by:
Dr. Pongpat Thiensiri
Deputy Director General
Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT)
“At first it's quite tough for us as well, because many Thai companies can feel that there's competition among neighboring countries — like Singapore or even Malaysia. But I encourage them to think in terms of synergies. Once we have synergies, we can go even further.
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