Garuda Indonesia Successfully Tests Flying Using Avtur From Palm Oil Mixture

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The national airline Garuda Indonesia has successfully flown aircraft using avtur fuel from a mixture of palm oil or J2.4.

The route that this aircraft passes is Soekarno-Hatta Airport to the Pelabuhan Ratu area, West Java.

The test flight with avtur fuel mixed with palm oil was carried out on Wednesday, October 4.

This trial uses a Boeing B737-800 NG aircraft with registration number PK-GFX.

Previously, the J2.4 bioavtur trial had also gone through a series of Engineering Ground Run Test procedures using the same fleet at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia.

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra said, the trial using the J2.4 bioavtur is part of the commitment and effort to support decarbonization, one of which is carried out through exploring the use of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) classification on Garuda Indonesia flights.

"This is a milestone that we have been waiting for. Of course, it is a separate optimism for our joint steps to realize our big dream of realizing green energy in the Indonesian aviation ecosystem to support Indonesia's commitment to achieving net zero emissions which is projected to be realized in 2060," said Irfan in an official statement, Tuesday, October 10.

After going through the entire series of trials, continued Irfan, Garuda Indonesia is committed to implementing SAF on Indonesian commercial flights.

"With these results, then Garuda Indonesia is ready to explore the use of the SAF on the commercial flight line," he said.

"This is the first step that can be a sustainable mission for the aviation ecosystem to move more adaptively in presenting contributions to environmental sustainability," concluded Irfan.

For your information, this trial was carried out through collaboration between Garuda Indonesia and Pertamina and was fully supported by the Directorate General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia, the Directorate of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operations (DKPPU) of the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, and the Research Team of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

The trial complements a static test that was carried out at the end of last July using the engine components of the CFM56-7B aircraft.

Through these various series of trials, the research team PT LAPI ITB together with related stakeholders conveyed positive results that SAF with Bioavtur type J2.4 on the Boeing 737-800 type showed the response of the aircraft was good and under control.