According to Novianto Herupratomo, Garuda Indonesia’s operationaldirector, all aircraft of the airline are capable of using bio-fuel, butthe change would depend on the availability of the fuel which is madefrom crude palm oil and is still being tested.
The state-ownedairline uses some 1.8 billion litres of avtur per year. The figure isestimated to reach about 2 billion litres in 2016.
In December2013, the Indonesian Minister of Transportation and the Minister ofEnergy and Mineral Resources signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)on the use of renewable energy in the aviation sector, under whichavtur is to be mixed with 2 percent of bio-fuel in 2016 and the ratewill be increased to 3 percent in 2020.
The IndonesianMinistry of Transportation has also encouraged shipping lines to useliquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of oil.-VNA