Emirates has carried out a demo flight of an Airbus A380 using one engine powered by 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
The flight was to demonstrate SAF’s potential as a ‘drop-in’ replacement for jet fuel – meaning it could be used without modifying the aircraft or its engines – while being a more sustainable alternative.
The flight from Dubai used 100% SAF in one engine, while conventional jet fuel was used in the other three engines. The auxiliary power unit (APU) also ran on 100% SAF.
This is the first time that drop-in SAF has been used on an A380 aircraft, with the expectation of full compatibility across the aircraft’s existing systems.
Emirates carried out extensive testing of the one engine with 100% SAF before the flight.
Emirates and SAF
The demo flight follows on from several other Emirates SAF projects.
Earlier this year, Emirates successfully completed the first 100% SAF-powered demonstration flight in the region on a Boeing 777-300ER.
Last month, the first Emirates flights operating with SAF provided by Shell Aviation took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB). Shell supplied 315,000 gallons of blended SAF for use at the airline’s hub in Dubai.
The airline recently expanded its partnership with Neste for the supply of over 3 million gallons of blended SAF in 2024 and 2025 for flights departing from Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changi airports.
Emirates currently uplifts SAF in Norway and France and the airline continues to seek opportunities to use SAF at various airports as supply becomes available.
Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer, Emirates Airline:
“This is another proud moment for Emirates and our partners, as we put words into action with the research into and the trialling of higher concentrations of SAF to eventually lead to industry adoption of 100% SAF flying.
“This marks another significant step in validating the use of SAF in one of the engines of the A380, a wide-body aircraft with four engines.”
