Malaysia Airlines, the national carrier of Malaysia, has operated its first passenger flight using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
The historic flight was operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft fueled by a blend of conventional jet fuel and Neste’s SAF, which is produced from 100 percent 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) Ltd, which is PETRONAS’ marketing and trading arm based in Europe, while product handling and refueling were carried out by PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) at KLIA.
Second SAF flight
The send-off event in Kuala Lumpur on June 5, 2022, follows the historic SAF-fueled commercial cargo flight by Malaysian Airlines from Amsterdam, the Netherlands to Kuala Lumpur in December last year.
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 minimizing our carbon footprint from the ground up through measures taken within our operations, including fuel efficiency programs and SAF, said Philip See, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of MAG.
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 minimize 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, Philip See said.
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.
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 task force, we are confident that we will be able to jointly accelerate the transformation of the Malaysian aviation industry into a sustainable one, said Azrul Osman Rani, Managing Director, and CEO of PDB.
Neste says that it is committed to supporting aviation to reach its ambitious emission reduction goals and is currently expanding its global SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tonnes per annum by the end of 2023.
This collaboration with PETRONAS enables our first supply of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Malaysia. Neste is committed to playing its part as the expansion of our Singapore refinery will enable the production of 1 million tonnes of SAF by the end of the first quarter in 2023, ready to support the Asia-Pacific and global aviation markets, said Sami Jauhiainen, VP APAC, Renewable Aviation at Neste.
