KLM Cityhopper has operated a passenger flight from Amsterdam to Hamburg using a 5% blend of synthetic kerosene, or e-SAF, in cooperation with INERATEC, MB Energy and Hamburg Airport. KLM said it is the first passenger flight to Germany to use this fuel.
The fuel was produced by INERATEC, blended with fossil kerosene by MB Energy and refuelled at Schiphol Airport before departure. KLM said the flight demonstrates that passenger operations on e-SAF are technically possible, even though scaling up production and availability remain major constraints.
The airline has used synthetic kerosene before. KLM said it carried out its first passenger flight on the fuel in 2021, on the Amsterdam-Madrid route. It also said synthetic sustainable aviation fuel is made from renewable electricity, CO2 and water, and can reduce lifecycle emissions by more than 90% compared with fossil kerosene.