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Abu Dhabi Aviation flies Leonardo AW139 commercial helicopter with sustainable fuel

Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA) and Aerospace, Defence and Security (AD&S) company Leonardo announced that ADA’s AW139 intermediate twin-engine helicopter accomplished two flights powered by aviation fuel blended with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 28 and 30 – the second flight carrying on board UAE dignitaries and industry representatives.

These flights using SAF on an ADA commercial helicopter marked a first in the UAE and Middle East, Leonardo officials said in a news release.

“The SAF flights in the UAE performed by ADA’s AW139 have shown what’s possible in support of the rapid evolution of sustainability requirements in aviation,” Gian Piero Cutillo, Leonardo Helicopters’ MD, said. “This technology can deliver real benefits in the region and widely across geographies, for all missions and can be readily available. We’re committed to joining forces with authorities, energy industry leaders and rotorcraft service providers to incentivise the use of SAF to sustain carbon footprint reduction.”

ADA and Leonardo have been collaborating for over 15 years, Leonardo said, with the operator acquiring a total of 33 aircraft to date, most of which are AW139s. Recently, ADA set a 100,000-flight hour milestone with its Leonardo helicopter fleet.