Air France Airbus A220 completes delivery flight from Canada to Paris partially on SAF

In Canada, an Air France Airbus A220 completed its delivery flight from Airbus’ site in Mirabel to Paris powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on Tuesday. This marked a significant step forward: Airbus in Canada directly issued official sustainability credentials for SAF to a customer for the first time.

This landmark flight not only confirms Airbus’ capability to provide Proofs of Sustainability (PoS) directly to customers and operators but also supports the industry’s commitment to decarbonisation. With PoS credits for a 50% SAF blend applied through the mass balance process, this ferry flight conducted by Air France’s 46th A220-300 named “VAISON-LA-ROMAINE”, represented more than 25 metric tons reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fossil fuels. 

Since the announcement of the first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) delivery at Airbus site in Canada, enabling the Mirabel teams to use SAF for A220 production, customer acceptance, and test flights, this achievement solidifies Airbus’ commitment to using SAF for internal operations as well as customer ferry flights across all its commercial aircraft assembly sites and delivery centers worldwide.

As with all Airbus aircraft, the A220 is already capable of operating with up to 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Airbus aims for all its aircraft to be capable of operating with up to 100% SAF by 2030. According to the PoS under CORSIA Sustainability Certification Scheme approved by ICAO, the SAF received at Airbus in Mirabel is certified for 85% reduction in GHG emissions on its lifecycle compared to fossil fuel. This substantial reduction is crucial to the aerospace industry’s progress towards decarbonization by 2050.