Brussels Airlines has operated its first “symbolic” flight using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplied directly to its home airport.
The flight from Brussels to Malaga in Spain took place on Sunday (1 January) using the first batch of SAF to be supplied through a pipeline serving Brussels airport.
The Lufthansa Group airline said opening NATO's Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPS) for the transportation of SAF to Brussels airport was an “important milestone” in plans to increase the use of sustainable fuel from Belgium’s main hub.
CEPS is the largest pipeline system operated by political and military alliance NATO which is used for both military purposes as well as supplying fuel to airports such as Brussels, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Schiphol and Zurich.
Brussels Airlines used SAF from specialist supplier Neste, which is made from renewable waste and residual raw materials, such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste. SAF can cut carbon emissions from flights by up to 80 per cent compared with traditional kerosene jet fuel.
The airline has purchased 2,000 barrels of fuel, each containing 1,000 litres, with a blend of 38 per cent SAF for the sustainable fuel pilot project.
Peter Gerber, CEO of Brussels Airlines, said: “Together with the Lufthansa Group, we have already invested in the production and use of SAF for several years.
“The fact that we can now transport the sustainable aviation fuel from the blending facility all the way to our aircraft at Brussels airport in a fast and environmentally friendly way is an important step to increase the use of this type of fuel in the near future.”
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels airport, described it as an “important milestone” in making aviation more sustainable at the hub.
“Having sustainable aviation fuels available at the airport has been a priority for us and we are delighted that, thanks to NATO’s support, we can already achieve this at such short notice,” added Feist.
“As an airport, within the framework of our European Stargate programme, we have expressed the ambition to aim for 5 per cent SAF on total kerosene imports by 2026. That is faster than the European target, but we want to fully commit to this together with our airline partners.”