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Sustainable Aviation Fuel

First Emirates flights take-off with SAF from Dubai

First Emirates flights take-off with SAF from Dubai
Shell Aviation fuelling sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for an Emirates Airline flight from Dubai (photo courtesy Emirates).

The first Emirates Airline (Emirates) flights operating with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provided by Shell Aviation have taken off from Dubai International Airport (DXB), United Arab Emirates (UAE). Emirates’ flight EK 412 bound for Sydney (SYD)  in New South Wales (NSW), Australia on October 24, 2023, was among the first to operate with SAF.

Shell has supplied 315,000 gallons of blended SAF for use at the airline’s hub in Dubai. This first-ever supply of SAF to Emirates in Dubai has enabled the airline to power a number of missions over the course of the last few weeks.

The blended SAF supplied by Shell into the DXB airport fuelling system was comprised of a ratio of 40 percent neat SAF and 60 percent 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 Emirates fleet with no modifications required.

In its neat form, SAF reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) 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.

Emirates and Shell have a long-standing history of collaboration, and we are thrilled to continue this journey together to enable SAF usage in the UAE. 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, said Jan Toschka, President of Shell Aviation.

Expand collaboration

Earlier this year, Emirates and Shell signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore areas of collaboration around sustainable travel and technology-driven travel experiences.

Emirates and Shell agreed to jointly evaluate mechanisms to reduce travel emissions for Shell’s business travel requirements, and the airline is currently using the Avelia platform to enable transparent tracking of the environmental benefits of SAF for its customers.

They will also be exploring ways to enhance the travel experience by offering personalized products relevant to today’s corporate travelers through new technologies including New Distribution Capabilities (NDC).

Emirates’ development of these new options in NDC provides Shell with the opportunity to be an early adopter of this technology.

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 minimize their own carbon footprint. We still have a long road ahead, and 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, said Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline.

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