Turkish Airlines Wins ‘Airline Sustainability Innovation of the Year’
Wednesday 9th of November 2022
The flagship carrier of Turkiye recently made waves after winning the coveted accolade of the ‘Airline Sustainability Innovation of the Year’ presented by the CAPA (Centre for Aviation). The prestigious accolade recognizes the airline’s innovative efforts within the scope of sustainability.
Implementing sustainability at the core of its business model, Turkish Airlines won the accolade for its game-changing ‘Microalgae Based Sustainable Bio-Jet Fuel (MICRO-JET) project. The project involves working in close collaboration with scientists to develop the world’s first carbon-negative sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
As per the project, Turkish Airlines have been jointly working with Boğaziçi University to produce biofuels from microalgae by utilizing hydro-processed fatty acids and hydrothermal liquefaction methods. Thus, paving way for jet fuel obtained from sustainable sources. This project also aligns with the 9th United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
Once the project is completed, Turkish Airlines plans to use this biofuel in its flight operations after engine tests are carried out by Turkish Technic. This in turn would make the airline among the few global companies that operate on the cleanest type of biofuel currently available in the world.
Speaking on the award, Chief Investment & Technology Officer at Turkish Airlines, Levent Konukcu said “As the airline that flies to more countries than any other airline in the world, we appreciate the sustainable aviation fuel as a key element in our sustainable strategy on reducing aviation’s environmental impact.
He added, “In addition to the regular use of sustainable aviation fuel in our flights, our R&D support to the MICRO-JET Project, which we carry out with Boğaziçi University for the production of biofuel, and finally being one of the signatories of the SAF Declaration, prove how much we focus on sustainable aviation in the fight against climate change.”
“Beyond the use of biofuels, the fact that our support to scientific studies in the production of this fuel is crowned with an award here today makes us proud as it proves the correctness of the steps we have taken. As the Turkish Airlines family, we will continue to invest and support sustainable aviation fuels and focus on the future of our world” stated Levent Konukcu.