On June 5, Malaysia Airlines honored World Environment Day by flying its first passenger flight using sustainable aviation fuel.
The flight, MH603, was serviced by a Boeing 737-800, registration 9M-MXX, and flew from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). It left Kuala Lumpur at 12:32 a.m., landed in Singapore at 13:22 a.m., and returned at 14:58 a.m.
The B737 was powered by a mix of conventional jet fuel and Neste's sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Neste SAF is made entirely of renewable waste and residual materials, such as the animal fat waste utilised for this flight's SAF refuelling.
Malaysia Airlines first employed SAF on an Airbus A330-200 freight aircraft from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) to Kuala Lumpur in December 2021. MH7979 utilised a 38 % SAF mix derived from spent cooking oil and regular jet fuel on the trip.
PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) fuelled the passenger flight with SAF at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), using the fuel provided by PETCO Trading (UK), PETRONAS' European Marketing and Trading arm. Potential airline passengers, including the Malaysian Aviation Group's (MAG) Firefly, will be able to use SAF at KLIA.
As part of its aim to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, MAG wants to be a pioneer in deploying SAFs for flights in Malaysia, according to Group Chief Sustainability Officer Philip See. He continued, "With the commencement of our first passenger flight using SAF, we encourage passengers to join us on this journey as we take the necessary steps to minimize our environmental impacts and plan for more flights powered by SAF. We will look to make SAF the cleaner and more viable energy option for our regular flights by 2025."
