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Akasa Air operated its first commercial flight on aviation turbine fuel blended with 1% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on 8 September 2026, between Mumbai and Goa.
The SAF blend was supplied by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a public sector oil marketing company.
The flight left Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, at 13:05 IST and landed at Manohar International Airport, Goa, at 14:30 IST.
It follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed by BPCL and Akasa Air on 14 July 2026 to build a framework for SAF supply and offtake across India.
India is working towards 1% SAF blending on international flights from 2027 and an ambition of 5% blending by 2030.
SAF is jet fuel made from non-fossil feedstocks - used cooking oil, agricultural residues, municipal waste and other renewable raw materials. It is a drop-in fuel: it blends with conventional aviation turbine fuel and works in existing aircraft and airport fuel systems, subject to certification and blending limits.
Simple Analogy: Same engine, same pipes, different origin of the fuel.
Public sector oil marketing company that supplied the SAF blend; it operates in refining, fuel retail and aviation fuel supply.
The Indian carrier that operated the flight; its Chief Financial Officer Ankur Goel said scaling SAF in India needs domestic supply chains, ecosystem support and commercial viability.
GS Paper 3 > Environment > Climate change mitigation and energy
General Awareness > Environment and Current Affairs
Consider the following materials: 1. Agricultural residues 2. Corn grain 3. Wastewater treatment sludge 4. Wood mill waste Which of the above can be used as feedstock for producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel?
Answer: 1, 2, 3 and 4
A fuel that can be blended with the conventional fuel and used in existing engines and infrastructure with no modification.
The standard kerosene-type fuel used in jet aircraft, with which SAF is blended.
The raw material SAF is made from - used cooking oil, agricultural residues or municipal waste. Aggregating it at scale is India's main bottleneck.