Malaysia Airlines flies its 1st passenger flight with Neste-produced SAF supplied by Petronas

Photo: Malaysia Airlines

In conjunction with World Environment Day, Malaysia Airlines, the national carrier of Malaysia, operated its first passenger flight using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ (SAF) on flight MH603 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, which was refueled at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The historic flight was operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft fueled by a blend of conventional jet fuel and Neste’s SAF, which is produced from 100 percent renewable waste and residue raw materials, such as animal fat waste that was used for the SAF on this flight. Produced by Neste, the world’s largest SAF producer, the fuel was supplied in collaboration with Petco Trading (U.K.) Ltd, which is Petronas’ marketing and trading arm based in Europe, while product handling and refueling was carried out by Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB) at KLIA. Following the June 5 milestone, the long-term supply of SAF will be secured at KLIA for future flights operated by sister airlines under Malaysia Aviation Group, including Firefly, as well as other potential airline customers wishing to reduce their carbon emissions with SAF. The send-off event in Kuala Lumpur June 5 follows the historic SAF-fueled commercial cargo flight by Malaysian Airlines from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in December last year.

“MAG aims to be a pioneer in using SAF for flights in Malaysia as part of our commitment to achieving socioeconomic development and reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Philip See, group chief sustainability officer of MAG. “We have taken proactive measures in minimizing our carbon footprint from the ground up through measures taken within our operations, including fuel efficiency programs and SAF. With the commencement of our first passenger flight using SAF, we encourage passengers to join us on this journey as we take the necessary steps to minimize our environmental impacts and plan for more flights powered by SAF for the betterment of the industry, nation, and future of our planet. Moving forward, we will look to make SAF the cleaner and more viable energy option for our regular flights by 2025.” Azrul Osman Rani, PDB’s managing director and CEO, said: “In line with Petronas’ commitment towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, exploring the supply of SAF at KLIA is a natural progression for us with aviation fuel being one of our key products. With two proven flights, PDB has demonstrated its capabilities and infrastructure readiness in supplying SAF in KLIA from now onwards to support the aviation industry’s sustainability agenda. Coupled with commitment from the national taskforce, we are confident that we will be able to jointly accelerate the transformation of the Malaysian aviation industry into a sustainable one.” Sami Jauhiainen with Neste said, “This collaboration with Petronas enables our first supply of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Malaysia. I am excited to see how countries and airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are setting ambitious targets to decarbonize aviation, and increasingly many airlines are taking SAF into use to reduce their emissions and enable their travelers to fly more sustainably. Neste is committed to playing its part as the expansion of our Singapore refinery will enable production of 1 million tons of SAF by the end of the first quarter in 2023, ready to support the Asia-Pacific and global aviation markets.”