Emirates has become the first airline to operate an Airbus A380 demonstration flight powered by 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel in one of the superjumbo's four engines.
Wednesday's test flight aimed to demonstrate the clean fuel's potential as a drop-in replacement for jet kerosene that matches its technical and chemical requirements, Emirates said.
The flight by the world's biggest operator of A380 double-decker jets took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 11.15am and landed at 12.30pm
“Once we've completed this test, the next step will be the availability of SAF in various airports and we are relying on fuel suppliers to start manufacturing and producing such a fuel at a volume that we will be requiring – that will be the challenge,” Adel Al Redha, Emirates' chief operating officer, said on the tarmac before the aircraft took off.
“I hope that next year we will be able to see the volume of SAF being available at airports at the required levels to support airlines.”
Dubai this week hosts the International Civil Aviation Organisation's third Conference on Alternative Aviation Fuels. The industry gathering is seeking to establish a global framework for SAF, lower-carbon aviation fuels and other clean energy that is critical for the aviation sector to achieve its net-zero target by 2050.
The test flight also comes days before the UAE hosts the Cop28 climate change summit, from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai.
In January, Emirates completed the demonstration flight of a Boeing 777-300ER powered by 100 per cent SAF, as part of the global aviation industry's push to use more of the greener fuel to meet carbon emission targets.
The International Air Transport Association believes SAF could contribute more than 60 per cent of the emissions reduction needed in aviation globally by 2050. The rest will be tackled by efficiency improvements through technology and operations and the use of hydrogen-powered planes, provided that countries create effective support policies.
SAF challenges
However, airlines are struggling to buy enough SAF to power flights. The scale of production remains small and the clean fuel is more expensive for airlines to buy than conventional kerosene.
“SAF is still not available across many airports,” Mr Al Redha said.
Emirates operates passenger and cargo services to 144 airports globally as of September 30 with a fleet of Boeing 777s and A380s.
Asked if Emirates has a goal for SAF use across its fleet of wide-body aircraft, Mr Al Redha pointed to industrywide challenges including sourcing enough SAF at an economically viable price at major airports.
“It’s not about Emirates having a target, it’s about what’s really available in the industry,” he said.
“There are physical challenges that we need to overcome.”
SAF is three to five times more expensive than traditional jet fuel, but increasing production volumes will help reduce the cost of production and distribution, he said.
The commitment by industry stakeholders including airlines, plane makers and oil companies to reduce carbon emissions will lead to improvements in SAF supply over the next few years.
“We’re just in the beginning of it and that’s why we’re not seeing the quantity we need but I expect in the next five to seven years we will see a major step-change in this direction,” Mr Al Redha said.
Emirates' test flight on Wednesday was the result of a cross-industry collaboration between Airbus, Engine Alliance (a 50-50 joint company between GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney), Enoc, Finnish biofuel producer Neste and Wisconsin-based renewable fuels company Virent.
Neste is ramping up its SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tonnes in 2024 and 2.2 million tonnes by 2026, the company's global head of aviation regulation, Klaas Pel, said.
The company currently has a global SAF production capability of 1 million tonnes, according to its website.
Aviation is the hardest sector to abate, making it a global challenge, but while SAF is expensive, “the cost of doing nothing, the cost of continuing to flying on fossil fuel on the environment will be a lot higher” Mr Al Redha said.
“Time is running out, climate change is real … and we want not just ourselves but also our children and grandchildren to be able to fly,” he added.
The Emirates A380 test flight adds to the body of industry data and research about using SAF blends in higher proportions, paving the way for standardisation and future certification of 100 per cent drop-in SAF as a replacement for jet fuel. The current blend limit is 50 per cent.
“At Airbus, we are working to make all our aircraft 100 per cent SAF-capable by 2030,” Julie Kitcher, Airbus executive vice president of communications and corporate affairs, said in a statement.
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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
SUZUME
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
ATP WORLD No 1
2004 Roger Federer
2005 Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer
2007 Roger Federer
2008 Rafael Nadal
2009 Roger Federer
2010 Rafael Nadal
2011 Novak Djokovic
2012 Novak Djokovic
2013 Rafael Nadal
2014 Novak Djokovic
2015 Novak Djokovic
2016 Andy Murray
2017 Rafael Nadal
2018 Novak Djokovic
2019 Rafael Nadal
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
if you go
The flights
Emirates fly direct from Dubai to Houston, Texas, where United have direct flights to Managua. Alternatively, from October, Iberia will offer connections from Madrid, which can be reached by both Etihad from Abu Dhabi and Emirates from Dubai.
The trip
Geodyssey’s (Geodyssey.co.uk) 15-night Nicaragua Odyssey visits the colonial cities of Leon and Granada, lively country villages, the lake island of Ometepe and a stunning array of landscapes, with wildlife, history, creative crafts and more. From Dh18,500 per person, based on two sharing, including transfers and tours but excluding international flights. For more information, visit visitnicaragua.us.
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Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
