Badung, Bali. Virgin Australia Airlines has become the first international airline to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced by Indonesia’s state-run oil company Pertamina.

The SAF is made of 38.43 percent of synthetic kerosene and 61.78 percent of regular fossil fuel. The synthetic kerosene is produced with used cooking oil.

The historic refueling using SAF was conducted during an event at Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali on Wednesday.

"The refueling moment marks Indonesia’s adaptation to the mixed energy demand in the international aviation industry as the SAF becomes the mid-term solution to reduce the carbon print without drastic changes in the aircraft design, airport infrastructure, and jet fuel supply chain," said Maya Kusmaya, marketing director of the company’s sales arm Pertamina Patra Niaga.

She said Pertamina Patra Niaga will continue to expand the SAF global distribution after the fuel product received recognition from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification and the Renewable Energy Directive-European Union (RED-EU). 

She claimed that SAF has also met standards from the American Society of Testing and Materials.

During the event, Pertamina supplied around 160 kiloliters of SAF to a Virgin Australia Boeing 737 plane for two days of flights between Bali and Australia.

Virgin Australia's website mentions that it has been actively supporting the development of sustainable aviation fuels since 2008. 

In 2018, Virgin Australia Group, in collaboration with the Queensland Government, Brisbane Airport Corporation and Gevo Inc, became the first airline in Australia to trial the injection of sustainable aviation fuel into an airport fuel supply system.

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