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Credit: The mandate requires a 2% SAF usage on all flights from UK airports, aiming to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Credit: Bulent Camci / Shutterstock

The UK has taken a step towards greener aviation with the enforcement of the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate.

The mandate requires that flights departing from UK airports must use a minimum of 2% SAF, which is expected to reduce carbon emissions substantially.

Derived from sustainable sources such as household waste or used cooking oil, SAF emits on average 70% less carbon than traditional jet fuel. The mandate stipulates a progressive increase in SAF usage, targeting 10% by 2030 and 22% by 2040.

The government’s Plan for Change is bolstered by this mandate, which is projected to supply around 1.2 million tonnes of SAF to the UK airline industry annually by 2030. This volume of fuel would be sufficient to circumnavigate the world 3,000 times.

Austrian multinational integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company OMV has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airbus to progress the decarbonisation of the aviation industry through sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

This partnership is intended to support the aviation sector’s aim to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050, with SAF identified as a key element in reducing CO₂ emissions.

The collaboration between OMV and Airbus will focus on expanding voluntary access to SAF for diverse customer groups. This initiative is expected to encourage new demand and support investment in new SAF production facilities.

The partners will explore ways to expedite the testing, evaluation, and approval processes for new feedstocks and production methods, thereby making SAF more readily available.

Archer Aviation has completed the construction of its high-volume manufacturing facility, ARC, in Georgia, US.

Situated adjacent to the Covington Municipal Airport, the facility covers an area of about 400,000ft².

The aircraft manufacturing facility is set to start production in early 2025, aiming to achieve a production rate of two aircraft per month by year’s end.

Previously, Archer received the certificate of occupancy for ARC, marking a significant milestone towards commencing the tooling load-in for the initial manufacturing line.

Archer teamed up with automobile manufacturing company Stellantis to build ARC, which is focused on the mass production of Archer’s Midnight all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL).

Unified data platform AIRHART has been selected by Germany’s second-largest airport Munich Airport for its digital transformation.

The platform has been developed by Smarter Airports, a joint venture between Netcompany and Copenhagen Airport (CPH), to improve passenger experience, reduce carbon emissions and increase operational efficiency.

Known as Pulse in other sectors, AIRHART will integrate existing systems and real-time data into a single solution at Munich Airport.

This will optimise overall management, enable incident prediction, minimise disruptions, and facilitate AI-supported decisions in real-time. The platform’s implementation is expected to enhance efficiency and capacity without expanding the airport’s physical infrastructure.

Munich Airport, which sees around 50 million passengers annually, has also entered into a comprehensive framework agreement with Netcompany.

Airport operator GMR Airports has introduced an AI-powered digital twin platform at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

This platform, along with the newly unveiled next-generation Airport Predictive Operation Centre (APOC), is expected to transform the management and functionality of airport systems.

The digital twin platform combines airside, landside, and terminal operations into a cohesive system, leveraging real-time data to enhance decision-making, reduce disruptions, and maintain smooth operations.

The platform will gradually become the standard operating model at all airports operated by GMR. Some of the features of the platform include intelligent crowd management, flow and queue analytics, passenger experience analytics, real-time insights, and behaviour analytics.

The intelligent crowd management feature employs real-time analytics to enhance flow and security, thus reducing congestion and improving safety.