Japan Airlines operates 1st passenger flight from Kansai Airport on domestically mass-produced SAF

Japan Airlines announced May 1 that domestically mass-produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was supplied for the first time to a passenger flight, Japan Airlines’ flight JL891 (Kansai to Shanghai Pudong) at Kansai International Airport (KIX).

SAF supplier Saffaire Sky Energy LLC has obtained ISCC CORSIA certification for the first time in Japan, according to the airline.

The certified SAF was mass-produced at its manufacturing facility located in Cosmo Oil’s Sakai refinery.

With the successful supply to a passenger flight, the domestic SAF supply chain has officially begun operations, the airline noted.

In the aviation industry, the International Civil Aviation Organization has set a goal to reduce emissions from international flights by 15 percent compared to 2019 levels starting from 2024 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Amid such backdrop, efforts have been made—such as the completion of Japan’s first large-scale SAF production facility in December—and the start of stable domestic production and supply of SAF in April.

“Today marks a significant milestone as we successfully operated the first passenger flight from KIX with domestically produced SAF made from used cooking oil (UCO) collected through the ‘Fry to Fly Project,’” Japan Airlines stated. “The implementation of a supply chain that enables the continuous production and supply of SAF in Japan plays a crucial role in reducing CO2 emissions.”

JGC Holdings Corp., Japan Airlines and Kansai Airports have been advancing various initiatives as part of the Fry to Fly Project with the goal to have airplanes fly using SAF produced domestically from UCO collected in Japan.

Moving forward, to accelerate the decarbonization of the aviation industry, Japan Airlines stated that the Fry to Fly Project will continue to deepen collaboration between companies and local governments, enhance the collection of UCO and expand the use of SAF in Japan.

A large amount of UCO is required to supply SAF on a wider scale, but much of the UCO from households is discarded, and over 100,000 tons of collected waste oil are exported from Japan annually, according to the airline.

To address these issues, participating companies, local governments and organizations that support the project’s purpose started to collaborate to propel the collection of UCO from households and businesses.

Additionally, educational activities are conducted to raise awareness about the collection of UCO for SAF in cooperation with local governments.

The project aims to create opportunities for active participation in promoting resource circulation towards decarbonization within Japan.

Initially starting with 29 members, the project has now expanded to over 200 companies and local governments.