Malaysia Airlines, the national carrier of Malaysia, has operated its inaugural flight using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in partnership with PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) and Neste Oyj. The historic flight MH7979 utilizing the Airbus 330-200 aircraft departed Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) in the Netherlands at 12:55 pm local time using a blended mixture of approximately 38 percent SAF, and fossil jet fuel, and arrived in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) at 09.00 am local time.
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This successful operation was a result of the supply deal between PETCO Trading (UK) Ltd, which is PETRONAS’ marketing and trading arm in Europe, and Neste, a leading global producer of renewable diesel and SAF refined from waste and residues.
Neste is committed to helping aviation with its emission reduction targets and we’re delighted to cooperate with Malaysia Airlines and PETRONAS to complete their first SAF-powered flight. Neste’s SAF provides immediate emission reductions and is already available today, playing a pivotal role in decarbonizing the aviation industry. We continue to scale up our operations and will have the capacity to produce some 1.5 million tons of SAF annually by the end of 2023, said Thorsten Lange, EVP Renewable Aviation.
Malaysia Airlines via its parent, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), recently partnered with PDB to jointly explore potential collaborative opportunities that advance sustainability, including the supply and adoption of SAF at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The flight marks Malaysia Airlines’ commitment to make SAF the cleaner and more viable energy option for regular flights by 2025.
Building on the momentum from our Net Zero Emissions commitment earlier this year, we are proud to have crossed the significant landmark of operating the first Malaysian flight using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Moving forward, we expect SAF to be a key component of our strategy to deliver a more sustainable travel experience for our customers. With the completion of today’s significant first step, we are committed to working towards having a viable SAF supply chain here in Malaysia, and we believe the only way we could reach this goal is through strategic collaboration and support from our stakeholders, said Izham Ismail, Group CEO of MAG.
MAG and PDB also aim to strengthen awareness in aviation sustainability through a united communication and advocacy strategy around carbon emission reduction.
In addition to using sustainable aviation fuel, preparations for this flight were done with GE Digital’s FlightPulse and Fuel Insight software that assisted the flight crew in planning for efficient fuel procedures during the flight. The data logged during the flight will be processed and analyzed to help the Operations team better understand the opportunities to operate a more sustainable flight.
Today marks a significant milestone in our partnership of more than two decades with Malaysia Airlines. In line with PETRONAS’ Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 aspiration and our continued efforts to make sustainable energy more accessible, we have been providing cleaner energy solutions including EV chargers, liquefied natural gas (LNG), solar solutions, and other renewable energy to support our partners and customers in achieving their emissions reduction ambitions. With SAF now proven to be a feasible alternative for commercial flights, we are excited to continue making headways in this decarbonisation journey, said Azrul Osman Rani, Managing Director and CEO of PDB.
