Domestic airlines successfully operate SAF refueling flights to support the aviation industry's green and low-carbon transformation

On March 16 at 6:30 a.m., a China National Cargo Airlines aircraft Airbus A330 freighter fueled with SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) successfully took off from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. This flight was the first to achieve domestic certification and verification of environmental benefits for SAF, enabling cross-industry transfer and conversion into economic value. It marks a key step forward for China National Cargo Airlines in the fields of SAF commercialized applications and green aviation transportation practices.

As one of the industries with the greatest difficulty in cutting carbon emissions globally, the aviation industry has already made SAF a key pathway to help the industry achieve its “dual carbon” goals. This flight completed fueling at Chengdu Shuangliu Airport and put the aircraft into actual operation. Relying on real-world air transportation scenarios, it comprehensively validated the end-to-end feasibility of SAF—from production, storage and transportation, and fueling, to combustion and accounting of emission reduction volumes. It successfully built and connected a complete process covering sustainable certification, carbon emission accounting, traceability management, and environmental benefits trading. At the same time, the project is based on an independently developed sustainable assessment framework, conducting scientific and systematic evaluation of SAF’s emission-reduction effects across its entire life cycle, providing a standardized and replicable “China solution” for the large-scale application of SAF in our country.

In recent years, China National Cargo Airlines has consistently and actively practiced the concept of green development, deeply integrating its sustainable development strategy into the entire process of corporate operations and aviation logistics services. While continuously improving the global air cargo route network and enhancing logistics service efficiency, the company has proactively explored diversified low-carbon transportation solutions. It has introduced innovative green air transportation products, and by promoting energy-saving and emissions-reduction technologies, strengthening green operations management, and expanding the application of sustainable fuels, it has steadily advanced air cargo toward a greener and lower-carbon direction.

Looking ahead, China National Cargo Airlines will continue to deepen collaborative coordination with partners across industries. It will actively engage in the promotion and application of SAF and innovation in aviation low-carbon technologies, continually enhancing its capacity for green aviation logistics services, and support China’s civil aviation green transformation through concrete actions.

（Text: Zhou Wenhao Photo: Zhou Liang）

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