Turkish Airlines has started using sustainable aviation fuel across its flight network that connects 128 countries. Aviation fuel obtained from sustainable sources was used for the first time on TK1823, the flight that departed from Istanbul to Paris on February 2. While sustainable fuel will be used for one day per week on the chosen route, there are plans to implement the practice on different routes on a wider scale. This sustainable fuel with high energy helps reduce harmful particles of SOx and NOx emissions due to clean burn. It is produced from sustainable raw materials and devoid of harmful heavy metals.
The flag carrier airline was prompted by the awareness of the effect the aviation sector has on climate change and took the initiative towards reducing the carbon footprint of its customers. Sustainable aviation fuel reduces emissions by 87 percent. The fueling process is also facilitated by Turkish Airlines subsidiary Turkish Fuel Services (TFS). Sourced from Neste, the environmentally friendly product is stored at the TFS fuel farm and gets loaded to aircraft after being blended with jet fuel. Turkish Airlines is also conducting a project on microalgae-based sustainable biojet fuel (MICRO-JET) along with Bogaziçi University, supported by TUBITAK. When the project is complete, the first carbon-negative integrated bio refinery of Turkey and Europe will start its service.
Turkish Airlines has initiated over 100 operational optimization projects since 2008 to lessen its carbon footprint and successfully implemented them throughout the years. With these projects implemented in every stage of the trip along with ground operations, 15,363 tons of fuel was saved, and 48,394 tons of carbon dioxide was prevented from being dispersed to the atmosphere during the third quarter of 2021. During the first three quarters, total CO2 prevention was at 85,119 tons.
In 2019—the best year of global aviation prior to the pandemic—the airline saved enough soil to cover 63 football fields while saving 3,648 trees with its preventive measures in aircraft maintenance operations. Preventing machine and aircraft oil from reaching natural water sources, Turkish Technic saved enough water to fill 784 Olympic pools.
As for the packaging of the inflight products, the global carrier uses starch-based material that can be easily reclaimed by nature. The airline will continue to implement techniques to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and remains committed in its efforts to develop sustainable aviation fuel.
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