IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group, has completed its first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) charter chain of 16 flights from Stuttgart to Atlanta last week. Working with its partner Kuehne+Nagel, IAG Cargo sourced 1.2 million liters of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ from Neste. This collaboration marks the first time that passenger-freighter charter flights are operated with net-zero carbon emissions.
The last of the British Airways B787-900 flights left Stuttgart on June 26, collecting on average 45 tons of automotive spares and other industrial goods destined for Atlanta via London Heathrow. The business has now completed more than 300 automotive charters since it began its charter service last year.
Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is made from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue raw materials. In its neat form and over the life cycle, its use can reduce up to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil jet fuel use. The SAF, sourced by IAG, was blended with fossil jet fuel to comply with aviation fuel certification standards, shipped to the U.K. from Europe, and then transported by underground pipelines into Heathrow.
