A Brussels Airlines plane was refueled with biokerosene for the first time at Brussels Airport on Sunday before flying to Malaga.
Zaventem airport is supplied with kerosene by the NATO pipeline network and, since Sunday, it is also possible to transport sustainable fuel SAF (“Sustainable aviation fuel”) to Brussels Airport. Brussels Airlines is the first airline to have used it. She bought two million liters of kerosene from the Finnish oil company Neste, a mixture with 38% sustainable fuel.
Shortly following midnight, the biokerosene was transported from the Neste facility in Ghent to the storage facility at Brussels Airport via the NATO pipeline. The CEO of Brussels Airport, Arnaud Feist, talks regarding “an important step“for the airport.”The availability of sustainable fuels at the airport was a priority for us and we are happy to be able to achieve this already with the support of NATO.“The airport wants biokerosene to represent 5% of total imports by 2026.”The fact that our national carrier Brussels Airlines is already taking the lead with a first order from SAF is a good start.“
Brussels Airlines also relies on biokerosene for “green“its consumption.”To meet our climate goals, we will need to significantly increase the use of alternatives to fossil fuels in the years to come.“, explains its CEO Peter Gerber. “Besides fleet renewal, sustainable fuel is the most effective tool currently available to reduce air transport emissions.“
Together with the German owner group Lufthansa, the Belgian airline has been investing in the production and use of biokerosene for several years, explains Peter Gerber. “The fact that we can now also transport fuel from the producer to Brussels Airport, quickly and in an environmentally friendly way, is an important step to increase the use of this type of fuel in the short term.“
In the meantime, Zaventem airport has abandoned plans to develop a large-scale blending facility for biokerosene itself.
