KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The head of Malaysia Airlines' parent company said Monday he doesn't rule out a green tax on passengers to help offset high costs of sustainable aviation fuel — a move that would only further raise ticket prices.
The comments by Malaysia Aviation Group’s Capt. Nasaruddin A. Bakar came as airlines worldwide are trying to cut carbon emissions while grappling with prohibitive costs and limited availability of sustainable aviation fuel, known as SAF.
Neighboring Singapore was the first in the world to announce a government-mandated green aviation tax from January 2027, with charges varying by destination and cabin class.
“We are looking at all options,” Nasaruddin told The Associated Press on the sidelines of an aviation sustainability conference. “Consumers must be able to afford it. The airline must be able to afford to buy it."
The International Energy Agency says aviation emissions contribute about 2.5% of the annual global carbon emissions. With aviation demand rising, the U.N.-backed International Civil Aviation Organization has set a goal of zero net carbon emissions for 2050.
Using SAF could cut about 65% of the industry’s emissions, it says.
SAF is generally produced from renewable feedstocks such as used cooking oil, waste fats and agricultural residues. It can be blended with conventional aviation fuel for use in existing aircraft. But it is much more expensive than conventional jet fuel, and production capacity and access to sustainable feedstocks are key constraints on its wider use.
SAF currently accounts for under 1% of global jet fuel use, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Nasaruddin said his group will focus on fleet renewal and also on the use of SAF as part of its commitment to cut emissions. Malaysia Airlines is already modernizing its fleet with orders for 40 fuel-efficient Airbus A330neos and 55 Boeing 737 MAX jets.
While the decision on a green tax is up to the government, Nasaruddin said regulators, fuel suppliers and airlines must work together to lower SAF costs, warning that passing the full expense to consumers could make air travel less attractive.
He said the group faces pressure from higher conventional jet fuel prices amid the Iran war, and has limited scope to recover increases through ticket prices. The same principle would apply to SAF, he said, adding that the extent to which costs could be passed on would depend on the price of the fuel.
“If the cost is not that high, maybe some more of it can be passed on to the passenger,” he said. “If the cost is just too high, we won’t be able to do that.”
He added that he doesn't rule out further price increases.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” he said.
Malaysia Airlines planes are parked on the apron as haze shrouds Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
PARIS (AP) — Paris police issued an overnight curfew on Monday in two areas of the French capital, after a weekend marred by France’s worst rioting in years that targeted city halls, other public buildings and thousands of businesses across the country.
The order aims to protect “people and property from the violence and looting,” the Paris police statement said.
The curfew prohibits anyone from entering or remaining on the Place de la République, where rioting took place Saturday, and the shopping neighborhood of Les Halles, which has been subject to looting.
The curfew will be in effect from 11 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday. In addition, gatherings and demonstrations are banned from 8 p.m., the Paris police said.
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had called for “very limited” and “localized” curfews.
In northern France, local authorities imposed a curfew for children and teenagers under age 18 in several cities, including Lille, starting from Monday and for the next two days from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Nice, on the French Riviera, also imposed an overnight curfew for minors from 9 p.m.
Lecornu defended police handling of the unrest, saying that “despite scenes of severe violence and extensive property damage, no one was killed, and that is a miracle.”
He said that details of the curfews would be announced later Monday after consultations with mayors.
Mass protests in France are often tainted by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police. Saturday’s unrest recalled the riots that followed the fatal police shooting of a teenager in 2023, when authorities imposed local curfews, and violence during the yellow vest movement that began in 2018 over fuel prices and broader economic grievances.
The prime minister's instructions come after Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation Sunday. But President Emmanuel Macron refused it “given the need for continued command of law enforcement in the current context,” Macron's office said in a statement Monday.
He instructed Nuñez “to take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency about the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that led to the violence,” the statement said.
Macron also asked for the introduction of “new policing tactics on the ground as quickly as possible” to put an end to the violence.
On Sunday evening, groups set fire to trash bins, bicycles and other objects in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities. That followed the violence during nationwide protests Saturday against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. At least 2,400 people were arrested across the country.
Authorities estimated Monday that at least 3,000 businesses were damaged or looted in several cities.
In Marseille, the prefect banned any protest or other gatherings from noon to 8 p.m. Monday.
“I submitted my resignation because I am responsible for everything that is happening,” Nuñez said on France Inter radio. “Now the real issue is ensuring that this doesn’t happen again. … We obviously need to be better at anticipating the kind of mobilization that is unfolding."
Nuñez blamed the violence on “hordes of troublemakers and looters” and “far-left activists,” and said that police strategy needs to be adapted “in the face of extremely mobile groups.”
Authorities said that groups of hundreds of people sought confrontations with police and targeted public buildings, including city halls and other public offices.
Nuñez acknowledged that authorities had “lost control” in some major cities on Saturday.
“You can’t look shopkeepers in the eye when hundreds of businesses have been looted and say we haven’t lost control in some of these major cities,” Nuñez said.
Flames engulfed the 19th-century City Hall in Limoges, in central France, causing its roof to collapse and nearly destroying the building.
On Monday, cleanup crews and firefighters cleared shattered glass and other debris from the streets of Paris.
Ouri Zagoury, owner of a video game shop near Paris' Place de la République, said that he closed the store Saturday afternoon, but then saw looters forcing their way in on surveillance cameras.
“There were so many people coming in and out. And even though I called the police, they said not to intervene, that they would come, but they never did, which is another problem," Zagoury said.
Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally party, pointed to the government's failure to prevent violence.
“The government has failed, the head of state has failed in his essential duty of protecting the French people,” he told reporters at the party's headquarters.
“I call on the people of France now, beyond their right to protest, to use their voting power,” Bardella said. He is campaigning alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose polling numbers have suggested for months that she's the front-runner in next spring's presidential election.
Tom Nouvian, Oleg Cetinic and Nicolas Garriga in Paris, and Lorne Cook in Brussels, contributed to this report.
A woman walks her dog past a looted store the day after a demonstration against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
A protester holds a placard with a photo of French president Emmanuel Macron and a guillotine in front of a burning tourism office during a demonstration against rising living costs and in solidarity with students' grievances in Lyon, France, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
A car burns at Republique square during a protest against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A firefighter extinguishes a fire during clashes with police a day after a demonstration against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
A protester runs through tear gas while a flea market is taking place during clashes between protestors and police officers in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
A firefighter extinguishes a fire during clashes between protestors and police in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
A man tries to extinguish a fire during clashes between protestors and police officers in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Youths break a store window during clashes between protestors and police in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
