ATR, in partnership with the Swedish airline Braathens and supplier Neste, performed on Tuesday the first flight of a regional aircraft with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
The aircraft, belonging to Braathens, was crewed by ATR chief pilot Cyril Cizabuiroz, co-pilot Jean-Pierre Marre and flight test mechanic Pascal Daussin, who flew about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The flight took place in Malmo, Sweden, with an ATR 72-600 and is part of the certification sought by airframer with a view to making commercial flights possible with 100% SAF from 2025.
The certification process began in September 2021, with ground and flight tests. Earlier this year, ATR completed a flight with one of the turboprop engines running on only sustainable fuel.
“Today is a historic day for aviation. After more than a century of commercial flights powered by kerosene, we are at the dawn of a new era. In recent months, we carried out a series of successful flights with sustainable fuel in one engine. We now decided it was time to perform the first test flight with 100% SAF in both engines,” ATR CEO Stefano Bortoli said.
According to Neste, which supplied the fuel, SAF can reduce greenhouse gas missions over its life cycle by up to 80% compared to using fossil jet fuel.
