en.Wedoany.com Reported - Delta Air Lines has signed a five-year contract with Shell Aviation, under which Shell will deliver sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Delta at multiple airports.

Under the contract, Shell will deliver at least 15 million gallons of SAF to the airline in 2026. A Delta spokesperson told Aviation Week that the airline retains the option to scale up year-over-year within the contract term as the market develops. The contract is valid through 2030.

Delta stated that the agreement builds on decades of collaboration with Shell in the conventional aviation fuel sector.

Shell will source SAF from multiple producers, including Montana Renewables and Diamond Green Diesel. The Delta spokesperson noted that the advantage of working with a market-scale player like Shell is its ability to aggregate volumes and address logistics across multiple supply chains, enabling early efficiency gains in a developing market.

Airports where Shell will supply SAF to Delta include Boston Logan International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Portland International Airport in Oregon.

The initial SAF delivered under the contract will be produced using fatty acids, waste, and residual feedstocks.

According to the airline, the agreement with Shell goes beyond fuel delivery and includes collaboration focused on how the fuel reaches the aircraft, aiming to build the logistics, blending, and distribution capabilities needed for reliable supply within Delta's network.

The spokesperson said the airline is most enthusiastic about jointly developing a SAF market with Shell to drive technological progress and sustained demand growth.

The airline stated that the agreement will help Delta integrate SAF into daily aviation operations, rather than treating it as a one-time milestone. The airline did not specify how many flights will use SAF delivered by Shell.

The spokesperson explained that fuel consumption varies significantly by aircraft type, flight distance, and load factor, making it impossible to attribute fuel to specific flights.

Under previous agreements, Delta received SAF produced by Montana Renewables and delivered by Shell at Los Angeles International Airport. Shell has also delivered SAF produced by Montana Renewables to Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways at LAX. Additionally, in partnership with Neste, Shell has delivered SAF to Cebu Pacific and Japan Airlines at Singapore Changi Airport, and to Cathay Pacific at Hong Kong International Airport.