Emirates: Watch first flights with SAF from Shell Aviation take off from DXB

The first Emirates flights powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provided by Shell Aviation have taken off from Dubai International Airport (DXB), the airline said in a statement.

Click to watch flights take off from DXB.

Shell has supplied 315,000 gallons of blended SAF for use at the airline’s hub in Dubai.

The blended SAF supplied by Shell into the DXB airport fuelling system comprised a ratio of 40 per cent neat SAF and 60 per cent conventional Jet A-1 fuel.

The chemical characteristics at this ratio are identical to conventional jet fuel, and can seamlessly be integrated into the existing airport fuel infrastructure as well as in the engines of the entire fleet with no modifications required.

In its neat form, SAF reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent* over its life cycle when compared with conventional jet fuel.

Emirates has also been tracking the delivery, use, and environmental benefits of SAF through Avelia, Shell Aviation’s blockchain-powered book and claim solution.**

Read: Sustainable aviation fuels to play key role in carbon mitigation, says IATA

Emirates aims to enable more sustainable flying now and in the future

Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline said: “We’re pushing ahead with proactive measures to enable more sustainable flying now and in the future, and powering flights from our Dubai hub is just one of the steps we’ve taken to reduce emissions and concretely help our customers minimise their own carbon footprint.

“We hope that our partnership with Shell Aviation inspires more producers to address the supply gaps and make SAF readily available in major hubs like Dubai, as well as other points on our network.”

Jan Toschka, president of Shell Aviation, said: “This first-ever supply of SAF to Emirates in Dubai is an example of what can be achieved when different parts of the aviation value chain come together. Our hope is that this milestone will inspire further advancements in SAF adoption throughout the aviation industry in the UAE and the wider region.”

Emirates operated the region’s first 100 per cent SAF-powered demonstration flight in January. The airline’s flight EK 412 bound for Sydney on October 24 was among the first to operate with SAF.

The airline first began using SAF in 2017, when it uplifted it on a flight from Chicago, and since then, flights from Stockholm, Paris, Lyon and Oslo have also operated with blended SAF.

* When used in neat form (i.e. unblended) and calculated with established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, such as CORSIA methodology
**Scope 3 includes all indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of a reporting company