Kenya Airways : KQ to Pilot Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel During the Sustainable Flight Challenge

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May 18, 2023

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(Kenya Airways/Market Screener) Kenya's national carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ), has announced participation in the second edition of the Sustainable Flight Challenge (TSFC), an initiative of SkyTeam. The initiative is a friendly competition between SkyTeam member airlines. This year, TSFC has extended the invitation to 'friends & family' airlines close to SkyTeam as the alliance seeks to drive broader industry change. Therefore, KQ will work with its subsidiary Jambojet to generate a number of varied solutions which can be implemented and scaled to improve sustainability.

As part of the initiative, KQ will pilot the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on the flight. This is expected to be the first pathway to testing the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel within Africa. The pilot flight will generate valuable data and insights that can inform policy decisions, regulatory frameworks, and industry best practices related to SAF. This will be a significant milestone for Kenya Airways and the broader African aviation industry.

Allan Kilavuka, Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director, Kenya Airways, said, "As an aviation industry, it is our responsibility to ensure that we are actively playing a critical role geared towards solutions and shared learning for sustainable solutions and practices in our industry. This year as our red tail goes green again, we aim to support the industry in achieving net zero by 2050. We are committed to adopting better practices and creating partnerships with people of similar vision."

From 2025, all aircraft departing from European airports will be required to incorporate a proportion of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). As a result, KQ is positioning itself to take advantage of sustainable aviation fuel momentum within the sector to unlock competitive advantages across the region and the wider African aviation industry.

For the Challenge, KQ will operate a Boeing 787-800(B787-8) Dreamliner for the return flight between Nairobi and Amsterdam on 25th May 2023. Some of the areas KQ will submit for consideration include:

Sustainable flight and ground operations initiatives.
A sustainably curated in-flight menu.
A carbon offsetting program for customers.
E-mobilityfor guests.
Travel light policy.
Waste management initiatives, amongst others.

The inaugural Sustainable Flight Challenge launched in May 2022 brought together 16 airlines. This year the Challenge features 22 airlines looking to execute the most sustainable flight possible. This is the second time Kenya Airways will be taking part in the Challenge in line with its purpose to contribute to the sustainable development of Africa.

The 2023 Sustainable Flight Challenge winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony in October 2023.

About Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways, a member of the Sky Team Alliance, is a leading African airline flying to 42 destinations worldwide, 35 of which are in Africa. Prior to the COVID pandemic, the airline carried a record number of over five million passengers in 2019. Its fleet comprises of wide body Boeing aircrafts, this includes its flagship B787 Dreamliner and narrow body Embraer E190 aircrafts. The on-board service is renowned and the lie-flat business class seat on the wide-body aircraft is consistently voted among the world's top 10.

Kenya Airways takes pride in being at the forefront of connecting Africa to the World and the World to Africa through its hub at the new ultra-modern Terminal 1A at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

About The Sustainable Flight Challenge (TSFC)

The Sustainable Flight Challenge (TSFC) exists to challenge the aviation industry by stimulating and accelerating innovation towards a sustainable future. TSFC is presented by SkyTeam, a leading airline alliance with member carriers around the world. It centres around a challenge scheduled between 1-14 May 2022 in which 16 participating airlines will implement their most sustainable solutions and compete for awards in 14 categories. This challenge is another step in the aviation industry's path towards a more sustainable future. READ MORE

KQ's Dreamliner to Amsterdam takes maiden flight using biofuel (Business Daily Africa)

Kenya Airways operating the first flight from Africa using Eni Sustainable Mobility’s aviation biofuel (Eni)

Kenya Airways readies itself for ReFuelEU Aviation (Bioenergy International)

Excerpt from Eni: Eni Biojet contains 100% biogenic feedstock and is suitable for use with up to 50% of JetA1 fuel. For this flight it was mixed with conventional jet fuel by Kenya Airways in Nairobi. KQ is working together with Eni to use sustainable aviation fuel for its flights out of the country: the SAF-fuelled Nairobi-Amsterdam flight allows KQ to gain a competitive advantage in the continent.

“The supply of Eni Biojet to Nairobi Airport is an important step for Eni Sustainable Mobility because it confirms that the company can support airlines such as Kenya Airways in their path towards decarbonisation” says Stefano Ballista, CEO Eni Sustainable Mobility.

From 2025, all aircraft departing from European airports will be required to incorporate a proportion of SAF. As a result, KQ is positioning itself to take advantage of sustainable aviation fuel momentum in accordance with the direction indicated by the European Union with the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation that sets the targets for mixing traditional fuels with increased amounts of more sustainable fuels.

Eni already markets an aviation fuel containing a 20% biogenic component, JetA1+Eni Biojet. The company has also signed agreements with national and international airlines as well as airports and logistics operators in order to supply it. As of 2024, the Venice and Gela biorefineries will begin production of Eni Biojet from renewable raw materials: it is expected to exceed 200,000 tonnes per year. This target requires a significant supply of raw materials, for which Eni is also active in developing a supply chain in Kenya to collect UCOs (Used Cooking Oil) by working with companies and operators in the food sector, contributing to managing food waste as part of a circular economy, as well as a network of agri-hubs in Kenya and other African countries to produce vegetable oils from marginal lands not in competition with food chain.

Eni Sustainable Mobility and Kenya Airways are working on a broader agreement for long-term collaboration. READ MORE