Bordeaux Airport has just become France’s first commercial airport with over a million passengers to permanently offer sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). On the first day that such fuel was available, three flights leaving from Bordeaux were refuelled with 30% SAF by TotalEnergies: Lufthansa flight LH1085 to Frankfurt, Air France flight AF7627 to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and a medical assistance flight operated by Airlec, a business aviation airline based in Bordeaux. This new service is the fruit of a multi-year partnership between Bordeaux Airport, TotalEnergies and its airline and business aviation partners. These flights are a concrete step towards the shared aim to decarbonise our industry.
The SAF offered in Bordeaux is produced at French TotalEnergies sites using cooking oil mixed with traditional fuel (JET-A1) in Gironde to produce a 30:70 blend. This reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90% across the SAF’s entire life cycle compared to the fossil fuel equivalent. It has similar technical properties to JET-A1 and does not require any changes to aircraft, logistical infrastructure or refuelling operations.
Using biofuel for refuelling in Bordeaux is a significant development in our efforts to decarbonise air transport, while supporting innovation in the French industry and contributing to the economic dynamism of the Bordeaux metropolitan area.
“We are proud to be able to permanently offer this service to airlines at Bordeaux Airport and therefore contribute to reducing their carbon footprint. By making these new biofuels available, we are contributing to creating a French industry located in our region. As an airport operator, we are not only committed to decarbonising all airport activities*, but also to supporting the objective to transform the entire aviation sector by 2050,” Simon Deschel, CEO of Bordeaux Airport.
“SAF represents the solution that is currently available to make significant reductions in CO2 emissions from air travel. Bordeaux Airport is the third airport where TotalEnergies is permanently offering SAF at an incorporation rate of 30%, after Le Bourget and Clermont-Ferrand. This partnership once again proves our commitment to supporting our clients to achieve their energy transition and is in line with the company’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2050, along with the rest of society,” Joël Navaron, CEO of TotalEnergies Aviation.
“Although our aeromedical operation is a public service, Airlec is particularly aware of its environmental impact as well. To this end, sustainable fuel is the only solution currently available. The refuelling that has just taken place will be used for a paediatric repatriation flight this weekend,” Paul Tiba, General Director of Airlec Air Espace.
*Bordeaux Airport has committed to a voluntary CO2 emissions reduction scheme, led by the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) program from ACI Europe
About Société Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac
At the heart of the airport’s organisation and in close connection with all its public and private operators, Société Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac runs the operations, maintenance, management and development of the platform, on the basis of a government concession. Furthermore, it defines and implements a promotional strategy for the airport with and for its local area and its economic, social and environmental challenges, which has been part of its mission statement since 2020: to ensure the best possible services for air travel passengers and manage the airport platform in an environmentally, socially and economically responsible way, in connection with regional development. A company with a Supervisory Board and a Management Board, its shareholding is divided between the State (60%), Bordeaux-Gironde Chamber of Commerce and Industry (25%) and local authorities: Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Conseil Général de Gironde, Bordeaux Métropole, Ville de Bordeaux, Ville de Mérignac (15%). *PACTE law of 22 May 2019 (Action Plan for the Growth and Transformation of Companies).
