News in brief: Indonesia’s Garuda airline completed its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel, marking a significant milestone in Asia and demonstrating the potential of palm oil as a sustainable source of aviation fuel.
Indonesia conducted its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel on Friday, 27 October 2023. The flight, operated by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, carried more than 100 passengers on a Boeing 737-800NG aircraft from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city, about 550 kilometers away.
The fuel used for the flight was a blend of 2.5% palm oil-derived sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and 97.5% conventional jet fuel, a Reuters coverage reported. The SAF was produced by Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company, using a process called hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA).
Using palm oil-blended jet fuel is part of Indonesia’s efforts to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels and to promote the use of renewable energy. Indonesia is already the world’s largest producer of palm oil, and it is estimated that the country could produce up to 14 million tons of SAF per year from palm oil.
There are several environmental benefits of using SAF over conventional jet fuel like cutting down greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% as well as reducing particulate matter emissions by up to 90%.
The successful commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel is a significant milestone for Indonesia. It is the first time that palm oil-blended jet fuel has been used for a commercial flight in Asia, and it demonstrates the potential of palm oil to be a sustainable source of aviation fuel.
