airBaltic has reported an increase in the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in its 2021 operations compared to the previous year. As they stated, this was possible thanks to the close collaboration with their supplier network, especially with Neste Company, which provided them with their Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Martin Gauss, CEO of the Latvian airline stated that the company’s vision is “to become a sustainable airline in the EU aviation market. At airBaltic, we believe that SAF will play a critical role in securing the future of the aviation industry and will help everyone involved to decrease their impact on the environment. Our use of SAF will further increase in 2022 and beyond.”
The PBS used for airBaltic’s operations is produced by oil company Neste from waste, such as used cooking oil or leftover animal fat. According to the company, “Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel can achieve up to 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the use of fossil aviation fuel.”
On December 28, 2021, airBaltic flight BT302, covering the Helsinki – Riga route, was operated with an allocation of 37% Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel and 63% conventional fossil aviation fuel. This was an important milestone, as it is the highest proportion of SAF used by airBaltic on a single flight so far.
Tuomas Kulola, Head of Marketing Sales and Services at Neste said the company “is fully committed to helping the aviation industry achieve its climate targets. We have developed an immediate solution that is readily available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when flying. All solutions are necessary and every step is important. We are pleased to help airBaltic meet its emissions reduction targets.”
The use of SAF in airBaltic’s operations is a major step towards reducing CO2 emissions from flying, even more so considering that the airline operates a unified fleet of Airbus A220-300s, whose fuel efficiency makes it even more interesting in terms of sustainability for the industry.
