Turkish Airlines signs Global Sustainable Aviation Fuel Declaration

We're pleased to share this exciting new update from our partners at Turkish Airlines:

We are pleased to announce that Turkish Airlines continues its support for the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) which play a key role in reducing carbon emissions. Starting to actively use SAF during its operations as of 2022, Turkish Airlines emphasized the importance of the matter for the company by signing Global SAF Declaration.

Global SAF Declaration represents collaboration between aviation, aerospace and fuel partners to decarbonize sustainable aviation fuel. The aim of the declaration is to completely decarbonize sustainable aviation fuels.

Turkish Airlines plans to increase SAF usage to the highest levels in line with the technical, regulatory, safety and financial feasibility.

Starting to use SAF for the first time in 2022 on the Istanbul Airport – Paris Charles De Gaulle route, Turkish Airlines extended this usage to its Paris, Oslo, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, London and Stockholm for one day of every week. Turkish Airlines intend to increase the frequencies and destinations served with sustainable aviation fuel in the future.

On the matter, Turkish Airlines Chief Investment & Technology Officer Levent Konukçu stated: “Reducing its emissions significantly with the inclusion of new generation aircraft to its fleet, operational optimizations and high-level fuel saving applications, Turkish Airlines will continue its support and investment to SAF.”

Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International, Christian Scherer said:  "Turkish Airlines has responded to the call to join this initiative, signing up to work with all the stakeholders in our journey towards zero emission aircraft. I am proud that Türkiye is demonstrating their commitment in this endeavour."

Rolls-Royce Chief Technology Officer Grazia Vittadini stated: “We welcome Turkish Airline’s commitment to signing the SAF Declaration and for its support of this important initiative. By signing this agreement, the airline has also given a clear signal that Türkiye is fully behind driving the momentum and collaboration necessary for a successful transition to a more sustainable future for global aviation.”

Additionally, Turkish Airlines cooperates with universities to support biofuel research and development in order to reduce the fossil fuel usage in aviation. In this regard, Microalgae Based Sustainable Bio-Jet Fuel Project (MICRO-JET) project is being conducted with Boğaziçi University and supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Türkiye). After the successful conclusion of the project, aim will be to use this biofuel, which will be obtained from sustainable sources in our flights after the engine tests carried out by Turkish Technic in 2022.