Airbus to factory-fill aircraft with SAF at its Alabama plant

SAF sourced from World Energy and provided by Signature Flight Support will be delivered to Airbus' Mobile, Alabama, manufacturing facility by November to fuel new aircraft before delivery. (Photo: Airbus)

Airbus will start delivering all aircraft from its U.S. manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama, with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on board later this year. Airbus has reached an agreement with Signature Flight Support to supply SAF to its Mobile facility. By this November, all aircraft delivered to customers will be powered by a blend of SAF and conventional jet fuel. Signature Flight Support is working in partnership with World Energy to provide the U.S.-sourced SAF to Airbus.

“Delivering our Mobile-produced aircraft with SAF is an important, iterative step toward solving the carbon challenge,” said Jeff Knittel, chairman and CEO of Airbus Americas Inc. “SAF is a positive contributor to enhanced sustainability in aviation since it enables up to an 80 percent reduction of CO2 across the fuel lifecycle. We are committed to making sustainable fuels an everyday reality with use on an increasingly larger scale, and this announcement is further evidence of that.”

From its U.S. manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama, Airbus delivers both A220 and A320 family aircraft to U.S.-based customers. Since 2016, the company has delivered more than 260 Airbus aircraft from Mobile, 54 of which have been turned over to airlines in 2021 alone.