Emirates has taken delivery of what it says is its largest purchase of sustainable aviation fuel to date, with 3,000 tonnes delivered by Shell Aviation at Heathrow Airport.
The airline said the SAF “will be safely launched into the airport's fueling infrastructure and existing aircraft engines.”
Current regulations allow a maximum mixture of 50 percent SAF and conventional fuel.
Emirates said it was participating in Heathrow's SAF Incentive Programme, a scheme that “provides a support mechanism to reduce the price gap between conventional and SAF jet fuel by approximately 50 per cent”.
The airline has already been using combined SAF at airports such as Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changiand in November it became the first airline in the world to operate an A380 demonstration flight using 100 percent SAF.
Emirates becomes the first airline to use 100% SAF on an A380 flight
Shell Aviation has also previously supplied SAF to Emirates at Dubai International Airport.
Heathrow chief commercial officer Ross Baker said that “thanks to commitments from airlines like Emirates, we look forward to supporting the use of up to 155,000 tonnes of SAF at Heathrow this year”, while Adel Al Redha, vice president and chief operating officer of Emirates , saying:
“Emirates is eager to take the next step in our SAF journey with Shell Aviation and London Heathrow supporting us with this fuel supply agreement on one of our most important operations outside of Dubai.
“The LHR incentive program will support the growing momentum of the SAF market, allowing airlines like Emirates to take advantage of its availability and make it more commercially viable.
“London Heathrow's SAF initiative also demonstrates credible action to encourage the scale-up and use of SAF by airlines, creating local production capabilities based on real demand, as well as developing capabilities across the supply chain to combine , manage and distribute SAF more widely.
“We hope that the initiative will receive collective support from government authorities to drive greater investment in SAF production in the future.
“As Emirates explores opportunities to increase the use of SAF within our network, we will continue to take other measures to reduce our emissions, with a significant focus on optimizing flight operations, including reducing aircraft weight and routing more efficient flight routes, among other things. initiatives”.
Earlier this month, Virgin Atlantic published the results of the world's first commercial transatlantic flight powered entirely by SAF.
Virgin's 'Flight100' flew from London Heathrow to New York JFK in November 2023, operated by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines using 100 per cent SAF.
Virgin Atlantic reveals 100 percent SAF flight findings
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