Latvian airline airBaltic increases use of sustainable aviation fuel

Photo: airBaltic

Latvian airline airBaltic reports that in 2021 the company has increased the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 20 percent compared to SAF volumes uplifted in 2020. This has been achieved in cooperation with Neste Corp. and other fuel providers on the airBaltic network. The collaboration with Neste started recently when airBaltic fueled the first flight using an allocation of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™.

“Our vision sees us becoming a sustainable carrier in the EU aviation market,” said Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic. “At airBaltic, we believe that SAF will play a crucial role in ensuring the future of the aviation industry and help everyone involved to decrease their impact on the environment. Our use of SAF will increase further in 2022 and beyond.”

On Dec. 28, Latvian airline airBaltic flight BT302 from Helsinki to Riga was performed with an allocation of 37 percent SAF and 63 percent conventional fossil jet fuel. It was thus far the highest proportion of SAF used by airBaltic in a single flight.

“Neste is committed to help the aviation industry to reach its climate goals,” said Tuomas Kulola with Neste. “We have developed a drop-in solution that is readily available and provides an immediate solution for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of flying. All solutions are needed and every step is important. We’re happy to support airBaltic to meet their emission reduction targets.”

AirBaltic currently flies a single type fleet of 32 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, the first to have a transparent declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact, helping to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions by 20 and 50 percent, respectively.

AirBaltic’s primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 96.14 percent of the stock.