Saudia operates the world's longest net-positive flight

On 12 May 2022, Saudia offset a total of 346 tonnes of carbon emissions, including radiative forcing impacts by a factor of two, for commercial passenger flight SV227, from Jeddah to Madrid, making the flight net-positive.

Operating with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the flight time was five hours and 55 minutes. Flight SV227 departed from King Abdulaziz International airport at 1030 hrs and arrived at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas airport at 1535 local time.

“The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 will see 100 million visits to Saudi Arabia by the end of the decade,”said Saudia CEO Capt. Ibrahim Koshy. “A cornerstone of that vision is for the Kingdom to be a leader in sustainable and even regenerative tourism.

“As Saudi Arabia’s national flag carrier we have a key part to play in making that happen. As a result, operating the world’s longest carbon net positive flight is just the start of an ambitious sustainability program that we will be implementing.”

“Saudia has decided to go above and beyond to not only ensure that this flight was carbon-neutral but net-positive. This partnership can serve as a model for the future,” added Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying.