Luxury Antarctic flights to run on recycled cooking oil

Starting this November, an Airbus A340-600 will carry passengers to the White Continent using fuel refined at Sasol’s Natref facility in Sasolburg. The refinery, which processes 108,500 barrels daily, produces the fuel by blending renewable materials—including used vegetable oils—with conventional jet fuel. Because the chemical composition mirrors standard kerosene, the aircraft requires no engine modifications or specialized fueling infrastructure.

White Desert’s decision to switch from European suppliers to Sasol follows the company’s recent international sustainability certification. While the use of SAF helps mitigate the environmental impact of luxury tourism by replacing crude oil with renewable waste, the flights remain carbon-emitting. The airline industry currently faces significant cost hurdles in scaling SAF production, despite global goals to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Currently, commercial aviation is permitted to use blends containing up to 50% sustainable fuel, a standard that European regulators intend to aggressively expand through mandatory blending targets over the next three decades.