Emirates Launches Operations with SAF at London Heathrow Airport

Emirates Airline, Dubai’s national carrier, on Wednesday took delivery of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Shell Aviation at London Heathrow Airport. Over 3,000 metric tonnes of neat SAF, blended with conventional jet fuel, will be supplied into the fuelling infrastructure network of the airport until the end of summer 2024.

This is the first time the airline will be using SAF to power some of its flights at Heathrow and represents the largest volume of SAF it has purchased to date. Emirates is participating in London Heathrow’s SAF Incentive Programme, which ensures its affordability and accessibility for airlines operating at the airport.

The airline will be accounting for tracking and tracing the delivery of SAF at London Heathrow as well as its sustainability attributes through robust reporting methodologies. The SAF that Emirates has purchased from Shell Aviation will be safely dropped into existing airport fuelling infrastructure and aircraft jet engines. In its neat form, SAF can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared with using conventional jet fuel. 

Adel Al Redha, Deputy President and Chief Operations Officer, Emirates Airline said that their national carrier was eager to take this next step in its SAF journey with Shell Aviation and London Heathrow supporting them with this fuel supply arrangement in one of their biggest operations outside of Dubai.

“We hope that the initiative receives collective support of government authorities to boost more investment in SAF production in the future. While Emirates explores opportunities to increase the use of SAF within its network, we will continue to take other steps to reduce our emissions, with a major focus around optimising flight operations including weight reduction of aircraft and charting more efficient flight routes, among other initiatives,” he added.

SAF Crucial

Shell Aviation President Raman Ojha said that after the successful collaboration with Emirates to supply SAF to Dubai (DXB) last year, they will continue to support for Emirate’s sustainability journey by enabling the airline to decarbonise flights out of the UK.

“This development also marks further progress in the growth of our global SAF supply network. Our goal is to continue to work with forward-thinking players in the aviation industry, like Emirates and London Heathrow, to make SAF available in more locations around the world,” he added.

Heathrow’s Chief Commercial Official Ross Baker said that SAF was crucial to decarbonising long haul flights as it can cut the carbon on routes like London to Dubai without the need for new aircraft or infrastructure.

“Thanks to commitments from airlines like Emirates, we expect to support the use of up to 155,000 tonnes of SAF at Heathrow this year. Now we need to ramp up SAF production in the UK so the country can benefit from jobs, growth and energy security as more airlines make the switch to more sustainable fuels,” Baker said.

Emirates currently operates flights from Amsterdam, Paris, Lyon and Oslo with SAF. Last year, the airline collaborated with Shell Aviation to supply SAF into Dubai Airport fuelling systems for the first time ever, allocating the SAF to a number of flights.

In May of this year, the airline plans to work with local partners at Singapore Changi Airport for the supply of SAF through the airport’s fuelling systems.

Emirates has been operating to the UK since 1987 with 131 weekly flights including six times daily A380 to London Heathrow (and an additional five times weekly utilizing the Boeing 777 aircraft until 26 October 2024); three times daily A380 service to Gatwick; twice daily service to Stansted; three times daily A380 service to Manchester; twice daily service to Birmingham (including a daily A380 service); daily service to Newcastle; and a daily A380 service to Glasgow.