Summary
- Emirates successfully conducted a flight using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to advertise more sustainable flying and reduce emissions.
- The SAF mix utilized in the flight was a mix of 60% jet fuel and 40% SAF.
- Despite the successful test flights, there are still challenges in developing a worldwide supply of SAF, and collaboration between different stakeholders within the aviation industry is crucial for further advancements.
Emirates has announced its first flight with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on October 24 between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Sydney International Airport (SYD), Australia. The service carried Emirates’ flight number EK 412 and used an Airbus A380. Although the SAF was a mix, the mix is meant to simulate actual jet fuel and seamlessly integrate into an airport’s fuel supply.
“Enable more sustainable flying now and in the longer term”
For Emirates, the continuing work to develop the worldwide sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply is a matter of aviation sustainability. As Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates, shared,
“We’re pushing ahead with proactive measures to enable more sustainable flying now and in the longer term, and powering flights from our Dubai hub is just one among the steps we’ve taken to cut back emissions and concretely help our customers minimize their very own carbon footprint.”
The historical moment was completed by a mix of 60/40 jet fuel and SAF, loaded into an Airbus A380 – A6-EVG – that made the journey from Dubai to Sydney. The 12,039 km (7,480.7 mi) journey was completed without incident, but after Airbus flew a test flight with an A380 on 100% SAF created from used cooking oil in March 2022, this was to be expected.
The historic flight by the world’s largest passenger aircraft follows a test of Emirates using 100% SAF in a Boeing 777-300ER engine this January on an hour-long non-revenue test flight. This test flight also occurred without incident.
But at the same time as Emirates’ test flights have been successful, challenges exist, as Clark explained,
We still have a protracted road ahead, and we hope that our partnership with Shell Aviation inspires more producers to deal with the provision gaps and make SAF available in major hubs like Dubai, in addition to other points on our network.
Others who need a more robust global SAF supply, akin to GOL Airlines Operations Control Center director Eduardo Calderon, outbound Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker, and Shell Aviation’s Ashleigh McDougall, for starters, share that assessment of a protracted road ahead.
Shell Aviation seeks to “encourage further advancements”
Shell Aviation’s President Jan Toschka also shared the next thoughts on the Emirates revenue flight with a SAF mix, commenting,
“Emirates and Shell have a long-standing history of collaboration, and we’re thrilled to proceed this journey together to enable SAF usage within the UAE. This primary-ever supply of SAF to Emirates in Dubai is an example of what may be achieved when different parts of the aviation value chain come together. Our hope is that this milestone will encourage further advancements in SAF adoption throughout the aviation industry within the UAE and the broader region.”
Shell Aviation can rest assured that efforts are underway. Moreover, Shell Aviation’s neat SAF, which was 40% of the mix powering the Emirates flight, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 80% compared to standard jet fuel.
Concerning the Emirates A380 test aircraft
The Airbus A380, which is the world’s largest passenger aircraft, that Emirates chosen to do the long-range SAF mix test is A6-EVG, which, in line with ch-aviation’s database, had its first flight on October 18, 2018, and delivered to Emirates on June 18, 2019. A6-EVG got here with 4 Rolls-Royce RB211 Trent 972-84 turbofan jet engines.
Photo: Tom Boon | Easy Flying
The A380 can go 15,186 kilometers or 9,436.1 miles – greater than sufficient to go from Dubai to Sydney. Emirates rotates its A380s around its global network.
Emirates
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- EK/UAE
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Dubai International Airport
- 12 months Founded:
- 1985
- CEO:
- Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
- Country:
- United Arab Emirates
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- SYD/YSSY
- Country:
- Australia
- CEO:
- Geoff Culbert
- Passenger Count :
- 44,446,838 (2019)
- Runways :
- 07/25 – 2,530m (8,300ft) |16L/34R – 2,438m (8,000ft) |16R/34L – 3,962m (13,000ft)
- Terminals:
- Terminal 1 |Terminal 2 |Terminal 3