Airbus powers 1st A380 on 100% sustainable aviation fuel

Airbus has performed a first A380 flight powered by 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Airbus’ A380 test aircraft MSN 1 took off from Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, France, on March 25. The flight lasted about three hours, operating one Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on 100 percent SAF.

Roughly 9,000 gallons of unblended SAF were provided by Total Energies for this flight. The SAF produced in Normandy, close to Le Havre, France, was made from hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), free of aromatics and sulfur, primarily consisting of used cooking oil, as well as other waste fats. A second flight, with the same aircraft, is scheduled to take place from Toulouse to Nice Airport March 29 to test the use of SAF during take-off and landing.

This is the third Airbus aircraft type to fly on 100 percent SAF over the course of 12 months. The first was an Airbus A350 last March followed by an A319neo single-aisle aircraft in October.

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 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.