Wednesday, July 17, 2024 airBaltic celebrates one year of enhanced Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) usage, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to greener, more sustainable air travel. Latvian national airline airBaltic has introduced an option for passengers to support climate neutrality by purchasing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In the first year, nearly 16,000 passengers from different countries have opted for this environmentally friendly choice, thereby boosting the demand for sustainable fuel.
This initiative led to airBaltic using 18 tonnes of SAF in May 2024 on flights from Spain to Latvia. The SAF, supplied by Cepsa, was used to refuel aircraft at Madrid, Barcelona, and Málaga airports, reflecting a growing commitment to sustainable aviation. “At airBaltic, we use only fuel recognized by the European Commission.
We would like to thank our partner Cepsa for assisting in fulfilling our pledge to our customers. The SAF we uplifted is sourced from used cooking oil feedstock and complies with the European Commission’s ReFuelEU regulation and legislation,” says Andris Zdors, Head of Fuel Procurement and Operations at airBaltic. Alvaro Macarro, Director of Sustainable Aviation at Cepsa, said : “Through collaborations like these, we continue to promote the use of sustainable fuel for aviation in the European market, and reinforce our commitment with circular economy objectives.
Our aim is to lead SAF production in Spain and Portugal this decade to promote more sustainable aviation and help airlines advance their decarbonization goals.” In June 2024, airBaltic began offering passengers the option to add even larger amounts of SAF to their flights. “We validated our customers’ willingness to voluntarily add SAF, observing consistent interest in this initiative.
The upcoming European Commission mandate will require 2% SAF usage by 2025. The combined voluntary and mandatory usage of SAF supports the creation of a growing market for SAF, which is one of the key tools on the road to climate-neutral aviation,” says Zita Barānova, Head of Sustainability at airBaltic . The most popular routes for SAF use were Riga-Helsinki, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Tallinn.
Passengers booking flights on airBaltic’s homepage can choose to add a specific amount of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to their flights. airBaltic has categorized all routes into four distance ranges (4001 km) and calculated the average fuel consumption for each category based on the previous year’s data. Passengers have the option to replace approximately 2%, 10%, 50%, or 100% of the fuel attributed to one traveler with SAF within the selected distance category.
The price of SAF varies according to the ticket type, starting at EUR 0.96 per person per flight. Corporate passengers interested in this initiative can contact their sales manager for more details.
Beginning in 2025, the European Union will mandate an annual average of 2% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) consumption, gradually increasing to 70% by 2050. airBaltic plans to leverage both mandatory and voluntary demand for SAF to accelerate its supply and adoption. Cepsa , a leading manufacturer and supplier of aviation fuels in Spain, produces SAF from organic waste, including used cooking oils and agricultural waste, at its La Rábida Energy Park in Huelva, southern Spain.
These second-generation biofuels can reduce aircraft emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional kerosene and support the circular economy by repurposing waste that would otherwise be discarded. Currently, Cepsa supplies SAF to five major airports in Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Seville, and Palma de Mallorca. By 2030, Cepsa aims to lead SAF production in Spain and Portugal, with an annual production capacity of 800,000 tons, enough to circumnavigate the globe 2,000 times.
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