Airbus has performed a first A380 flight test powered by 100 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Airbus’ A380 test aircraft MSN 1 departed from Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, France at 8:43 a.m. on March 25. The flight lasted about three hours, operating one Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on 100 percent SAF.
Total Energies provided 27 tons of unblended SAF for this flight. The SAF produced in Normandy, near Le Havre, was made from Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), free of aromatics and sulfur, and primarily consisting of used cooking oil, besides other waste fats. A second flight, with the same aircraft, is scheduled to take off from Toulouse to Nice airport soon to test the use of SAF during take-off and landing.
This is the third Airbus aircraft—following the Airbus A350 and the A319neo—to fly on 100 percent SAF over the course of 12 months.
Increasing the use of SAF remains a key pathway to achieving the industry’s ambition of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Key statistics outlined in the Waypoint 2050 report indicate that SAF could contribute between 53 percent and 71 percent of required carbon reductions.
All Airbus aircraft are currently certified to fly with up to a 50 percent blend of SAF mixed with kerosene. The aim is to achieve certification of 100 percent SAF by the end of this decade.
The A380 aircraft used during the test is the same aircraft recently revealed as Airbus’ ZEROe Demonstrator—a flying testbed for future technologies instrumental to bringing the world’s first zero-emission aircraft to market by 2035.
Related Stories
JetBlue Adds Milwaukee, Kansas City to Network
Emirates to Re-instate Pre-Pandemic Flight Frequencies to India
KLM to Operate Direct Flights to 167 Destinations This Summer