Mönchengladbach Airport in Germany has become the first in the country to offer a continuous supply of SAF.
Mönchengladbach Airport, which is near Düsseldorf has arranged a contract with TotalEnergies for regular deliveries of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), meaning the airport can now offer it throughout the day.
The SAF being used is produced from waste and residual materials such as animal fats and used cooking oil.
SAF is already offered at other airports in Germany, but not continuously.
Speaking at an event this week at Mönchengladbach Airport, Oliver Krischer, minister for the environment, nature Conservation and transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia said, “It is groundbreaking that Mönchengladbach Airport has now created the possibility of refueling aircraft with SAF. This is an important step towards making flying more climate-friendly.”
The SAF will be distributed at the airport by Mönchengladbach-based aviation services company Rheinland Air Service. Johannes Graf von Schaesberg, CEO of RAS said, “As the European dealer of Honda Aircraft and Daher Aircraft, Rheinland Air Service has committed to using SAF on all HondaJet ferry flights and demonstration flights by RAS. The same applies to Daher’s TBM and Kodiak aircraft.”
Mönchengladbach Airport, handles almost 50,000 flight movements per year and is one of the most important airports for general aviation in Germany. The airport is used by business pilots, flight schools and regional aircraft.
Andreas Ungar, managing director of Flughafengesellschaft Mönchengladbach said, “Aviation is facing the challenge of ensuring decarbonization and thus the mobility transition in the air. The permanent availability of SAF at MGL underlines the claim of the airport company and RAS to actively help shape more sustainable aviation. As the ‘first mover’ of the German aviation industry, we can create the conditions for the new regional aviation at MGL.”
