Qantas, Virgin Australia and some of the country’s largest airports are lobbying for $2 billion to be set aside at next month’s federal budget to develop a sustainable aviation fuel industry in a bid to reduce Australia’s dependency on imports.

In a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the major airlines, airports and tourism groups have asked Labor to match a $2 billion commitment to develop hydrogen and subsidise the cost of using sustainable fuel, which is considerably higher.