Airline completes ‘milestone’ SAF test flight

Swedish airline Braathens Regional Airways has accomplished the primary check flight utilizing 100 per cent sustainable aviation gas (SAF) on a industrial regional plane.

The flight came about in Sweden and was a part of an ongoing collaboration between Braathens, regional plane producer ATR and SAF provider Neste, which is designed to speed up the method of SAF certification. Utilizing 100 per cent SAF can scale back plane emissions by as much as 80 per cent.

Braathens used a prototype of the ATR 72-600 plane for the check flight from Malmo to Bromma, which took round one hour and 20 minutes to finish.

The flight is a part of an ongoing certification course of permitting ATR plane to make use of 100 per cent SAF to energy engines, with this work anticipated to be accomplished by 2025. The most recent check flight was the primary to make use of 100 per cent SAF in each engines.

ATR’s CEO Stefano Bortoli known as the profitable check flight a “historic day for aviation” and the “daybreak of a brand new period” for the sector.

“In latest months, we carried out a collection of profitable flights with sustainable aviation gas in a single engine,” mentioned Bortoli.

“We now determined it was time to carry out the primary check flight with 100 per cent SAF in each engines. This helps us to certify our plane to fly solely on sustainable aviation fuels sooner and to allow extra sustainable connections because of this.”

Jonathan Wooden, Neste’s vice chairman Europe, renewable aviation, added “As a drop-in gas, it may be utilized in current plane engines and is suitable with present airport gas infrastructure. 

“Take a look at flights like this present it’s attainable to securely fly on 100 per cent SAF and assist speed up the adoption of SAF in aviation.”

SAF has been within the headlines this week with IATA urging governments around the world to introduce incentives to supply such a gas. 

American Specific International Enterprise Journey has additionally introduced a partnership with power big Shell and Accenture to create the Avelia “book-and-claim” platform permitting company shoppers to buy the gas.