Kenya Airways to pilot use of SAF during Sustainable Flight Challenge

The initiative is a friendly competition between SkyTeam member airlines. This year, TSFC has extended the invitation to ‘friends & family’ airlines close to SkyTeam as the alliance seeks to drive broader industry change. Therefore, KQ will work with its subsidiary Jambojet to generate a number of varied solutions which can be implemented and scaled to improve sustainability.

As part of the initiative, KQ will pilot the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on the flight. This is expected to be the first pathway to testing the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel within Africa. The pilot flight will generate valuable data and insights that can inform policy decisions, regulatory frameworks, and industry best practices related to SAF. This will be a significant milestone for Kenya Airways and the broader African aviation industry. 

Allan Kilavuka, chief executive officer and Group managing director, Kenya Airways, said, “As an aviation industry, it is our responsibility to ensure that we are actively playing a critical role geared towards solutions and shared learning for sustainable solutions and practices in our industry. This year as our red tail goes green again, we aim to support the industry in achieving net zero by 2050. We are committed to adopting better practices and creating partnerships with people of similar vision.” 

From 2025, all aircraft departing from European airports will be required to incorporate a proportion of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). As a result, KQ is positioning itself to take advantage of sustainable aviation fuel momentum within the sector to unlock competitive advantages across the region and the wider African aviation industry.

For the Challenge, KQ will operate a Boeing 787-800 (B787-8) Dreamliner for the return flight between Nairobi and Amsterdam on 25th May 2023. Some of the areas KQ will submit for consideration include:

• Sustainable flight and ground operations initiatives.
• A sustainably curated in-flight menu.
• A carbon offsetting program for customers.
• E-mobility for guests.
• Travel light policy.
• Waste management initiatives, amongst others.

The inaugural Sustainable Flight Challenge launched in May 2022 brought together 16 airlines. This year the Challenge features 22 airlines looking to execute the most sustainable flight possible. This is the second time Kenya Airways will be taking part in the Challenge in line with its purpose to contribute to the sustainable development of Africa. 

The 2023 Sustainable Flight Challenge winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony in October 2023.