Malaysia Airlines recently operated its first passenger flight using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The historic flight was operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft fuelled by a blend of conventional jet fuel and Neste’s MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Flight MH603 flew from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and was refuelled with SAF at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Philip See, Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Malaysian Airline Group (MAG), said that moving forward, MAG would look to make SAF the cleaner and more viable energy option for its regular flights by 2025. “MAG aims to be a pioneer in using SAF for flights in Malaysia as part of our commitment to achieving socio-economic development and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” he said.
The airline had made its first SAF-fuelled commercial cargo flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in December last year.
Azrul Osman Rani, MD & CEO, Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB), said the company was exploring the supply of SAF at KLIA as a natural progression, with aviation fuel being one of its key products. “With two proven flights, PDB has demonstrated its capabilities and infrastructure readiness in supplying SAF in KLIA from now onwards to support the aviation industry’s sustainability agenda,” he said.
SAF will also be made available at KLIA from hereon for potential airline customers and future flights operated by sister airlines under MAG, including Firefly.
Neste, the world’s largest SAF producer, supplied the fuel for the flight, produced from 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials such as animal fat waste. It plans to expand its global SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tonne by the end of 2023.