Emirates becomes world’s first airline to operate A380 demonstration flight with 100% SAF

Emirates has become the world’s first airline to operate an A380 demonstration flight using 100 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). 
The flight commanded by Captain Khalid Binsultan and Captain Philippe Lombet, took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) with one of four engines powered on 100 percent SAF, helping demonstrate its potential as a drop-in replacement that matches jet fuel’s technical and chemical requirements, while being a more sustainable alternative. 

SAF can reduce carbon emissions by up to 85 percent over the fuel’s life cycle when compared to conventional jet fuel. 
Demonstration flights like the one conducted recently pave the way for future standardisation, qualification and adoption for 100 percent SAF flying, as governments adopt broader strategies to support the production and scale up of SAF. 

The Emirates A380 demonstration flight comes as the aviation industry, international organisations, regulatory bodies and high-level officials driving policy-related decisions converge in Dubai for the Third International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3). 
Dedicated collaborators from Airbus, Engine Alliance, Pratt & Whitney, Neste, Virent and ENOC have been working on the testing, technical assessments and data analysis for today’s flight. 
The 100 percent drop-in SAF used on the flight includes renewable aromatics and closely mimics the characteristics of conventional jet fuel. This is the first time that drop-in SAF has been used on an A380 aircraft, with the expectation of full compatibility across the aircraft’s existing systems. 
The flight carried four tonnes of SAF, comprised of HEFA-SPK provided by Neste (hydro processed esters and fatty acids synthetic paraffinic kerosene) and HDO-SAK from Virent (hydro deoxygenated synthetic aromatic kerosene).
 ENOC helped to secure the neat SAF comprised of HEFA-SPK, and blended it  with Sustainable Aviation Kerosene (SAK) at its facility in Dubai International Airport ahead of the demonstration, and also carried out into-plane services.
The 100 percent SAF was used in one Engine Alliance GP7200 engine, while conventional jet fuel was used in the other three engines. The PW980 auxiliary power unit (APU) from Pratt & Whitney Canada also ran on 100 percent SAF.

Last week, robust engine testing for one A380 Engine Alliance GP7200 engine using 100 percent SAF was carried out, with the objective of validating the engine’s capability to run on the specially blended 100 percent drop-in SAF without affecting its performance or requiring any modifications.  Ground engine testing took place at the state-of-the-art Emirates Engineering Centre in Dubai.