Malaysia Airlines has operated its first passenger flight using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ (SAF) on flight MH603 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, which was refueled at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
The historic flight was operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft fuelled by a blend of conventional jet fuel and Neste’s SAF, which is produced from 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, such as animal fat waste that was used for the SAF on this flight.
Produced by Neste, the world’s largest SAF producer, the fuel was supplied in collaboration with PETCO Trading (UK), which is PETRONAS’ marketing and trading arm based in Europe, while product handling and refueling was carried out by PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) at KLIA.
Following yesterday’s milestone, the long-term supply of SAF will be secured at KLIA for future flights operated by sister airlines under Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), including Firefly, as well as other potential airline customers wishing to reduce their carbon emissions with SAF.
The send-off event in Kuala Lumpur yesterday follows the historic SAF-fueled commercial cargo flight by Malaysian Airlines from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in December last year.
Philip See, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of MAG, said: “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.
“We have taken proactive measures in minimising our carbon footprint from the ground up through measures taken within our operations, including fuel efficiency programmes and SAF.”
“With the commencement of our first passenger flight using SAF, we encourage passengers to join us on this journey as we take the necessary steps to minimise our environmental impacts and plan for more flights powered by SAF for the betterment of the industry, nation, and future of our planet.
“Moving forward, we will look to make SAF the cleaner and more viable energy option for our regular flights by 2025.”
Azrul Osman Rani, PDB’s Managing Director and Chief Executive, said: “In line with PETRONAS’ commitment towards achieving Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050, exploring the supply of SAF at KLIA is a natural progression for us with aviation fuel being one of our 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.
“Coupled with commitment from the national taskforce, we are confident that we will be able to jointly accelerate the transformation of the Malaysian aviation industry into a sustainable one.”
Neste is committed to supporting aviation reach its ambitious emission reduction goals and is currently expanding its global SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tons per annum by the end of 2023. In neat form, Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%* over the life cycle, compared to fossil jet fuel. Neste-produced SAF is made from 100% renewable and sustainably sourced waste and residue raw materials.
“This collaboration with PETRONAS enables our first supply of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Malaysia,” said Sami Jauhiainen, Vice President APAC, Renewable Aviation at Neste.
“I am excited to see how countries and airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are setting ambitious targets to decarbonize aviation, and increasingly many airlines are taking SAF into use to reduce their emissions and enable their travelers to fly more sustainably.
“Neste is committed to playing its part as the expansion of our Singapore refinery will enable production of 1 million tons of SAF by the end of the first quarter in 2023, ready to support the Asia-Pacific and global aviation markets.”
*) Calculated with established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, such as CORSIA methodology.
