IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group completed its first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) charter chain of 16 flights from Stuttgart to Atlanta last week.
“This collaboration marks the first time ever that passenger – freighter charter flights are operated with net-zero carbon emissions,” read a company statement.
“The last of the British Airways B787-900 flights left Stuttgart on June 26 collecting on average 45 tonnes of automotive spares and other industrial goods destined for Atlanta via London Heathrow. The business has now completed more than 300 (328) automotive charters since it began its Charter service last year,” the statement added.
Working with partner Kuehne+Nagel, IAG Cargo sourced 1.2million litres of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel made from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue raw materials.
John Cheetham, Chief Commercial Officer at IAG Cargo commented, “International Airlines Group was the first European airline group to commit to powering 10 per cent of its flights with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.”
“These charters mark IAG Cargo’s first step on that journey – we’re incredibly proud of our commitment to long-term sustainability, helping to reduce carbon footprint overall.”
“We are constantly looking at ways which reduce our impact on the environment whilst improving our customer offering and we were delighted to support Kuehne+Nagel with sourcing Neste-produced SAF to power these landmark charters, the first of many.”
Answering growing customer demand for environmentally friendly logistics, Kuehne+Nagel is proactively expanding its sustainable services portfolio with innovative and easily customised shipping options. The overall commitment so far of 12.7M litres of SAF allows Kuehne+Nagel customers to benefit from immediately available alternative fuel solutions to avoid CO2 emissions of their air freight globally.
Yngve Ruud, Member of the Management Board of Kuehne+Nagel, responsible for Air Logistics commented, “Climate change has now given new urgency to the search for cleaner, renewable fuels as they are currently the most effective measure to achieve true decarbonisation in our industry.”
“Kuehne+Nagel is committed to increase its supply of SAF as part of our ambitious Net Zero Carbon programme.”
“Our work with our suppliers is critical here, with trusted partners like IAG Cargo playing a vital role in the attainment of our goals and by fostering deployment of sustainable fuels so our like-minded customers can ship their products CO2 neutral in an easy and transparent way.”
Jonathan Wood, Vice President Europe, Renewable Aviation at Neste commented, “Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel provides immediate emission reductions and is already available today, playing a pivotal role in decarbonising the aviation industry.”
“We continue to scale up our operations and will have the capacity to produce some 1.5 million tons of SAF annually by the end of 2023.”
As SAF still produces some CO2 emissions, complete carbon neutrality was achieved by substituting each litre of jet fuel kerosene used with 1.25 litres of SAF. Offering this solution from Stuttgart airport, the initiative highlights the importance of joint efforts for making sustainable transportation choices and possibilities available at close-by airports to local and global industry players avoiding further emissions through trucking goods into major hubs.
