Wizz Air and Airbus launch SAF trial ahead of EU mandates
November 7, 2024
BY Wizz Air
Wizz Air, awarded as global environmentally sustainable airline group of the year by the CAPA Centre for Aviation, on Oct. 21 announces it will trial operations using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in collaboration with Airbus. This positions Wizz Air at the forefront of compliance with the EU’s forthcoming RefuelEU aviation regulations, which are set to take effect in 2025. The joint initiative underscores Wizz Air’s proactive approach to decarbonizing air travel in alignment with the EU’s Destination 2050.
As part of the EU’s Fit for 55 package, the RefuelEU aviation regulation requires aviation fuel suppliers to ensure that all fuel made available at select EU airports contain a minimum share of SAF with increasing blends over time. It will also require airlines operating in the EU to refuel with 90% of fuel needs from those airports. With this project, Wizz Air is taking steps to incorporate SAF into its operations, on top of leveraging the fuel efficiency of the Airbus A321neo aircraft, testing the alignment with regulatory frameworks ahead of schedule and working to understand passengers’ awareness of SAF and surrounding policies.
The trial will involve flights across two major routes, Barcelona to Budapest (BCN-BUD) and Brussels Charleroi to Budapest (CRL-BUD), with SAF supplied by Cepsa and distributed by World Fuel Services, a World Kinect Company for each departure airport respectively and to be completed by the end of the year. The project will be conducted using the mass balancing method**. Wizz Air will purchase up to 16 metric tons pure SAF through an up to 5% SAF blend in the Barcelona-El Prat Airport and up to 18 metric tons pure SAF through an up to 10% SAF blend in the Brussels Charleroi Airport.
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