science

Tankering

Tankering is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tankering rather than just read about it. In short: In aviation, tankering is the practice of loading more fuel than necessary for a trip, to take advantage of lower fuel prices at the airport of origin, or when fuel is in short supply at the destination airport. Tankering increases the weight of the aircraft and therefore total fuel consumption, however it can still reduce costs if the difference in fuel prices is great enough.

Key takeaways

Tankering belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tankering to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tankering from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In aviation, tankering is the practice of loading more fuel than necessary for a trip, to take advantage of lower fuel prices at the airport of origin, or when fuel is in short supply at the destination airport. Tankering increases the weight of the aircraft and therefore total fuel consumption, however it can still reduce costs if the difference in fuel prices is great enough. Fuel prices can vary by over 50% within Europe, with price differences of 20% to 30% between major airports. Modern flight management systems can calculate the optimum amount of fuel to tanker for given origin and destination fuel prices. In the ECAC area, full tankering is performed on approximately 15% of flights and partial tankering on a further 15% of flights. According to Eurocontrol, tankering on a typical 300-nautical-mile (560 km; 350 mi) flight can increase fuel consumption by approximately 2.21%, and tankering on a typical 600-nautical-mile (1,100 km; 690 mi) flight can increase fuel consumption by approximately 4.66%. Tankering can be limited by a need to arrive with a lower amount of fuel, to avoid exceeding the maximum landing weight, or to avoid cold soaked fuel frost. While tankering reduces costs for airlines, it increases fuel consumption and therefore carbon emissions. Taxing aviation fuel does not necessarily help reduce fuel consumption, because by increasing the price difference between jurisdictions which tax jet fuel and jurisdictions which do not, it can incentivise tankering.

RefuelEU The European RefuelEU legislation (in force since 1 January 2025) goal is to mandate the switch to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with the target ratios of 2% in 2025, 20% in 2035 and 70% in 2050. Use of SAF causes high additional cost (US Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 offered incentives as high as $1.75 per gallon). leading to tankering as a cost-avoidance mechanism. RefuelEU obliges aircraft to uplift fuel at all EU airports to prevent tankering.

See also Jet fuel EU aviation fuel taxation Aviation taxation and subsidies

References

Sources Cong, Wei; Zou, Lin; Lu, Jiaying; Shu, Xin; Li, Weiping (21 March 2026). "Do Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandates Catalyze Decarbonization? Evidence From Europe's Pioneers". SSRN (preprint). Rausch, Sebastian; Straubinger, Anna (April 2026). "Turbulence Ahead: Economic Policies for Decarbonizing Aviation". SSRN.

External links

RefuelEU

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tankering

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tankering claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tankering before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tankering ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tankering

In research: Tankering appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tankering in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tankering is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aircraft operations, Aviation fuels, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tankering outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tankering in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tankering means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tankering out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tankering in simple terms?

Why does Tankering matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tankering?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tankering.