KLM launches commercial flights Amsterdam – Paris on biofuel

AMSTELVEEN – KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has taken another important step in aviation sustainability. In September KLM will launch more than 200 flights being operated on biokerosene between Amsterdam and Paris. “KLM has once again shown it is stimulating the development of biokerosene”, according to managing director Camiel Eurlings. “In November 2009 we demonstrated that it was technically possible to fly on biokerosene. Now, a year and a half after our first demonstration flight on Camelina, a new phase has been entered around the world, that of certification. Authorisation will soon be granted to operate commercial flights on biofuel. I am especially proud to announce that KLM will take this substantial step in September”.

Amstelveen - The flights will be operated on biofuel made from Used Cooking Oil. KLM is open to using different raw materials for the end product, as long as they meet a range of sustainability criteria, including substantial reductions in CO2 emissions and minimum negative impact on biodiversity and food supply. All biofuels used by KLM also have to meet precisely the same technical specifications as traditional kerosene and must not require any adjustments to aircraft engines or infrastructure.


The fuel is produced by Dynamic Fuels and supplied by SkyNRG, the consortium launched by KLM and North Sea Group and Spring Associates in 2009. SkyNRG is actively developing a sustainable production chain for aviation biofuels. The sustainability of alternative kerosene depends on many factors and is assessed on a case-by-case basis. In order to be able in future to reach the right decisions in this area, SkyNRG is advised by an independent Sustainability Board, consisting of the Dutch wing of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Solidaridad, and the Copernicus Institute of the University of Utrecht. A positive recommendation from the Sustainability Board carries a lot of weight for KLM.


KLM also supports the view published in the WWF’s Energy Report which indicates that alternative fuels made from biomass are the only appropriate replacement for fossil fuels for such sectors as the airline industry. Eurlings: “The route to 100% sustainable energy is enormously challenging. The costs of biofuels need to come down substantially and permanently. This can be achieved through innovation, collaboration and the right legislation that stimulates biofuel in the airline industry, but with an eye on honest competition. We really need to move forward together to attain continuous access to sustainable fuel”.


KLM has been committed to developing sustainable biofuel since 2007. Air France KLM is also an industry leader in the field of fuel efficiency. Air France KLM has been sector leader of de Dow Jones Sustainability Index for six successive years.


About KLM

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded in 1919, making it the world’s oldest airline operating under its original name. In 2004, Air France and KLM merged to form AIR FRANCE KLM. The merger produced the strongest European airline group based on two powerful brand names and hubs – Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Paris Charles de Gaulle. The two airlines collaborate on three core activities while maintaining their own identities – passenger transport, cargo transport, and aircraft maintenance.

In the Netherlands, KLM comprises the core of the KLM Group which further includes KLM cityhopper, transavia.com en Martinair. KLM serves 130 destinations using a modern fleet of 158 aircraft and employs over 33,000 people around the world. KLM is a leader in the airline industry, which offers reliable operations and customer-oriented products resulting from its policy of enthusiasm and sustainable innovation.

KLM is a founding member of SkyTeam, the global airline alliance with 13 members providing access to an extensive global network with over 12,500 daily flights to 898 destinations in 169 countries. KLM participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France, Delta and Alitalia. With nearly 250 daily trans-Atlantic flights and a fleet of 144 aircraft, the joint venture between AIR FRANCE-KLM, Alitalia and Delta Air Lines provides customers with the benefits of a vast route network offering more frequencies, competitive fares and harmonized services on all trans-Atlantic flights. The JV network is structured around seven main hubs: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York-JFK, Paris-CDG and Rome Fiumicino, together with Cincinnati, Lyon, Milan, Memphis and Salt Lake City.