With integration in Mirabel, Canada, all Airbus assembly sites around world now use SAF
Airbus announced March 20 that the first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) delivery recently took place at the Airbus Canada’s A220 site, enabling the Mirabel, Canada-based teams to use SAF for production, customer acceptance and test flights.
This now means that all Airbus commercial aircraft-assembly sites around the world are now using SAF for their internal operations.
During the course of 2025, all Airbus commercial aircraft delivery centers around the world will offer SAF to customers for ferry flights.
This year alone, in 2025, over 600,000 liters (over 158,500 gallons) of SAF with a 30 percent blend are expected to be used at the Airbus Mirabel site, resulting in a reduction in CO2 emissions of around 400 metric tons.
“On average, SAF can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent compared to traditional jet fuel,” said Airbus Canada CEO Benoît Schultz. “This substantial reduction is crucial to the industry’s progress toward decarbonization by 2050. It’s a big milestone to now have our Mirabel site in Canada as SAF capable as our other Airbus sites. It not only means we can test our A220 aircraft using SAF, but we will also be able to deliver them to our customers with SAF too.”
In 2024, 18 percent of Airbus’ global fuel mix for the year was SAF.
That’s more than 16 million liters (more than 158,500 gallons) of neat SAF.
Alongside this, 75 percent of its aircraft worldwide were delivered with SAF, representing the importance Airbus customers place on decarbonization.
Management of SAF in Mirabel will be done using the mass-balance principle.
Once the SAF has been transported and delivered to Airbus Canada, it is blended with the conventional aviation fuel also known as Jet-A1 in the Mirabel site’s fuel farm.
The dilution of Jet-A1 and SAF in the fuel tanks is allowed through established standards and auditable bookkeeping.
Airbus Canada said its ambition is to deliver SAF proof of sustainability to A220 customers receiving their aircraft from Mirabel in 2025.
SAF has been used in A220 aircraft delivered from Airbus’ A220 final-assembly line in Mobile, Alabama, since 2016.
Like all Airbus aircraft, the A220 is already able to operate with up to 50 percent SAF.
Airbus is targeting all its aircraft to be capable of operating with up to 100 percent SAF by 2030.
The Airbus site in Mirabel is over 1.5 million square feet and includes, among others, a prefinal-assembly line, two final-assembly lines, a customer-response center, a flight and integration test center, and a brand-new delivery center.
Over 3,500 Airbus employees work at this location.
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