First flight in China of a helicopter powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The Airbus Helicopters H-125 aircraft, operated by the State Grid Space Technology (SGST) company, carried out the flight with a mixture made up of 60% traditional kerosene and 40% biofuel produced by the China National Aviation Fuel company (Cnaf).

"I am proud that our customer, SGST, has launched this noteworthy SAF flight with the H-125, making Airbus Helicopters the first helicopter manufacturer to perform a SAF flight in China. In an effort to reduce carbon emissions and setting a standard within the industry, we are working with our partners to use locally produced sustainable fuel", said Colin James, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Helicopters China.

This is a milestone for Chinese aviation, made possible by a memorandum of understanding signed in April between the European Airbus Group and the Chinese state-owned company CNAF. The objective of the agreement is to intensify Sino-European cooperation on the production, application and formulation of common standards for Saf. Beijing has set itself the goal of using 10% biofuel by 2030.