Suppliers Were Originally Ordered to Restrict 100LL Production After May 2025

The three largest European suppliers of leaded avgas were recently granted an extension to the EU’s ban, securing 100LL production until April 2032. Still, many airports are taking it upon themselves to enforce the restriction early.

The first of the three approvals, granted for Shell, came from the European Commission’s REACH Committee on June 26. It passed with 26 votes in favor, one abstention, and none opposed, effectively securing Shell’s 100LL supply chain for the next seven years. This decision, of course, comes barring any new regulations or the rapid adoption of unleaded alternatives. Similar applications from Warter Fuels and Trafigura are expected to get the green light in coming weeks.

This extension didn’t happen on its own. It followed years of coordinated lobbying from IAOPA-Europe, GAMA, Europe Air Sports, and ERAC, The organizations’ fight emphasized three key points: general aviation uses a tiny fraction of Europe’s fuel, engines like the Lycoming IO-540 or Continental TSIO-520 have no certified alternatives today, and forcing an immediate ban would ground large parts of the piston fleet overnight.

For pilots and operators, the extension is a weight off their shoulders. There’s no looming risk of fuel shortages, no urgent requirement for costly engine conversions, and no mass groundings of aircraft that rely on high-octane avgas. Operations can continue more or less as normal until at least 2032.

Still, the decision is more of a delay than a solution. Europe expects to phase in unleaded replacements, ideally in sync with the US rollout of GAMI’s G100UL… but we all know how that’s going. G100UL is FAA-certified but only available at a handful of American airports, with most major general aviation manufacturers turning a blind eye.

Meanwhile, airports like Antwerp and Ostend have tried to take the matter into their own hands. They have made multiple attempts to ban 100LL throughout the ongoing EU process. Ostend has since reversed course, but Antwerp remains off-limits.

FMI: https://ec.europa.eu