Next week Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ), will participate in the second edition of the Sustainable Flight Challenge (TSFC), an initiative of SkyTeam – a significant milestone where the airline will pilot the use of SAF.

The initiative is a friendly competition between SkyTeam member airlines and this year, TSFC has extended the invitation to ‘friends & family’ airlines close to SkyTeam as the alliance seeks to drive broader industry change.

Therefore, KQ will work with its subsidiary Jambojet to generate a number of varied solutions which can be implemented and scaled to improve sustainability.

The first pathway to testing the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel within Africa – the flight will generate valuable data and insights that can inform policy decisions, regulatory frameworks, and industry best practices related to SAF.

Allan Kilavuka, Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director, Kenya Airways, said, “This year as our red tail goes green again, we aim to support the industry in achieving net zero by 2050. We are committed to adopting better practices and creating partnerships with people of similar vision.”

From 2025, all aircraft departing from European airports will be required to incorporate a proportion of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). As a result, KQ is positioning itself to take advantage of sustainable aviation fuel momentum within the sector to unlock competitive advantages across the region and the wider African aviation industry.

For the Challenge, KQ will operate a Boeing 787-800 (B787-8) Dreamliner for the return flight between Nairobi and Amsterdam on 25th May 2023.

The inaugural Sustainable Flight Challenge launched in May 2022 brought together 16 airlines. This year the Challenge features 22 airlines looking to execute the most sustainable flight possible. This is the second time Kenya Airways will be taking part in the Challenge in line with its purpose to contribute to the sustainable development of Africa.