Emirates Operates Test Flight Powered with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Photo source: Emirates.

Dubai’s Emirates airline recently operated a test flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in one of its engines, marking a milestone for the company and the aviation industry in reducing its carbon footprint.

The flight was the first in the Middle East and North Africa to be powered by 100 percent SAF and supports the UAE’s sustainability objectives for 2023, which they have declared as the “Year of Sustainability“.

The flight, which was operated for more than one hour over the Dubai coastline, also demonstrated the compatibility of the SAF blend, which was procured and developed by Emirates in partnership with GE Aerospace, Boeing, Honeywell, Neste and Virent, as a safe and reliable fuel source.

Currently, SAF can be used in aircraft, but only in blends of up to 50 percent with conventional jet fuel. The successful outcome of the demonstration opens the door for the possibility of standardizing 100 percent drop-in SAF as a replacement for jet fuel.

Photo source: Emirates.

“We hope that landmark demonstrations flights like this one, will help open the door to scale up the SAF supply chain and make it more available and accessible across geographies, and most importantly, affordable for broader industry adoption in the future, ”said Chief Operating Officer of Emirates Airline Adel Al Redha.

The successful test flight received congratulatory remarks from all its partners who believe that SAF will play a critical role in the aviation industry’s goal to be net zero by 2050.

Emirates’ first flight powered by SAF blended with jet fuel was in 2017, operating from Chicago O’Hare airport on a Boeing 777. It received its first SAF-powered A380 delivery in 2020, and also uplifted 32 tonnes of SAF for its flights from Stockholm that same year.