Antarctica flights take off with fuel made from used cooking oil

Travellers flying from Cape Town to Antarctica will soon be able to make the journey on fuel partly made from used cooking oil.

Sasol, a South African company that produces fuels and chemicals, has started supplying sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to White Desert, a luxury tourism operator that organises trips to the continent, Bloomberg and Reuters reported.

White Desert operates one flight a week from Cape Town to Antarctica during the November-to-February season. Its first flight using Sasol’s fuel is expected to take place in November on an Airbus A340-600, Reuters reported.


The company’s packages include one-day trips priced at $16,500 and seven-day journeys costing up to $120,000. Activities include glacier excursions, visits to Antarctica’s Blue Rivers and champagne gatherings in an ice bar, according to information cited by Bloomberg.

The deal comes as tourism to Antarctica expands and operators face pressure to reduce the environmental impact of taking visitors to one of the world’s most sensitive regions.

How the fuel works

SAF is an alternative to conventional jet fuel. It is made from materials such as used cooking oil rather than crude oil and can be blended with regular aviation fuel.

The fuel does not eliminate emissions from flying, but it can help reduce the carbon impact of air travel. Aviation accounts for about 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions and 12% of emissions from transport, according to the US Department of Energy.

White Desert previously sourced SAF from Europe. It switched to Sasol after the company’s fuel received certification, Reuters reported.

Sasol produces the fuel at its Natref refinery. The company is the world’s biggest producer of fuels and chemicals from coal and one of South Africa’s biggest greenhouse-gas emitters.

“This we see as a very first practical commercial step,” Danie Cronje, Sasol’s senior vice president for business building, strategy and technology, told Bloomberg.

A small but growing fuel market

Sasol can currently produce up to 2 million litres of SAF a year at Natref. It plans to increase production to about 16 million litres in 2027 and up to 100 million litres by 2030, Reuters reported.

SAF accounted for about 0.6% of global jet-fuel demand last year, according to BloombergNEF analysts. The fuel can cost two to three times more than conventional aviation fuel.

Sasol said it has received interest from other potential customers and is working on additional commercial agreements.