A380 Test Aircraft Performs First Flight Powered by 100% SAF

(29 Mar 2022, 11:49 +07)  An Airbus A380 has performed a flight powered by 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a first for the aircraft type.

The Airbus A380 test aircraft MSN 1 took off from Blagnac Airport in Toulouse, France at 08:43 on Friday, 25 March. The flight lasted about three hours, operating one Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on 100% SAF.

Total Energies provided 27 tonnes of unblended SAF for the flight. The SAF, produced in Normandy in northern France, was made from Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), free of aromatics and sulphur, and primarily consisting of used cooking oil, as well as other waste fats.

Airbus A380. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

A second flight, with the same aircraft, is scheduled to take place from Toulouse to Nice Airport, today (29 March) to test the use of SAF during take-off and landing.

This is the third Airbus aircraft type to fly on 100% SAF over the course of 12 months. The first was an Airbus A350 in March 2021 followed by an A319neo single-aisle aircraft in October 2021.

Increasing the use of SAF remains a key pathway to achieving the industry’s ambition of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Key statistics outlined in the Waypoint 2050 report indicate that SAF could contribute between 53% and 71% of required carbon reductions.

All Airbus aircraft are currently certified to fly with up to a 50% blend of SAF mixed with kerosene. The aim is to achieve certification of 100% SAF by the end of this decade.

See also: Exclusive Travel Industry Interview with Kurt Ekert, President of Sabre.