First Citycopter to fly using SAF in Scandinavia
The first two ACH130s acquired by Helsinki Citycopter have just landed in Finland.
"We are a young company, established in 2020, and our commitment to sustainability for future generations is part of our DNA," said Joonas Nurmi, CCO, and co-founder of Helsinki Citycopter. "That's why we will start using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in our new ACH130s as the first helicopter company to do so in Northern Europe.”
Helsinki Citycopter will start replacing fossil aviation fuel with sustainable aviation fuel at Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
In the first phase, the helicopter company will undertake to replace 10% of its annual refuelling with an approximate mixture of 38% SAF and 62% fossil aviation fuel.
Every Airbus helicopter is certified to fly with up to a 50% blend of SAF in the fuel, which allows operators to substantially reduce CO2 emissions while maintaining flight performance completely identical to that of traditional kerosene.
While SAF is currently more expensive and harder to source than kerosene, the supply of this biofuel is expected to grow as demand increases, and with it supply chains becoming more efficient.
"Neste has been delivering Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport starting from April 2021," added Tuomas Kulola, Head of B2B Sales, marketing and services at Neste.
"Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is produced from a mix of renewable and sustainable waste and residue raw materials, such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste."