SAF Refiner Neste Delivers Fuel to LaGuardia Airport

The company said the fuel will be used for a Delta Air Lines flight, marking a “seminal moment” in the development and transport of SAF in the U.S. The fuel delivery is the result of a partnership that includes Neste, Delta, Colonial Pipeline, and Buckeye Partners aimed at demonstrating the viability of SAF in airline operations.

Neste said it finished processing the fuel at a refinery that previously produced chemicals. From there, it traveled almost 1,500 miles across 11 states to New Jersey before switching to the Buckeye pipeline that leads to LaGuardia. 

The delivery demonstrated that existing infrastructure can support sustainable fuel. 

“The U.S. East Coast is home to some of the USA's busiest airports, and the vast majority of them get their fuel from the Colonial Pipeline system and, in New York, the Buckeye Pipeline system,” said Chris Cooper, Neste’s vice president of renewable aviation in the Americas. “What we’re doing here is showing that just around the corner is a future where passengers at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson up to LaGuardia, JFK, and EWR can board a plane flying on SAF.”

Aviation companies and organizations have been lobbying for regulatory changes that could help boost the development, production, and use of SAF. Last year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) approved a resolution under which the global air transport industry is to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Neste said making SAF more accessible “will enable more airlines to make the switch, supporting the industry as it works to meet President Biden’s goal of producing three billion gallons of SAF and reducing aviation emissions by 20 percent by 2030.”