Dassault Aviation, its subsidiary Dassault Falcon Service (DFS) and Paris airport operator Groupe ADP are joining forces to make Paris Le Bourget airport a pioneer in sustainable aviation.

The five-year agreement strengthens their actions in decarbonisation at Paris Le Bourget airport, in terms of distribution and use of SAF; use of electric equipment for all ground operations; and the use of geothermal power for airport buildings and hangars.

The agreement also contains a section aimed at boosting the airport's attractiveness in its employment pool.

"At Dassault Aviation, we firmly believe that business aviation must lead the way in decarbonising the aviation industry. Our aircraft are particularly well suited to integrating emission-reducing innovations and our customers, who are mostly businesses, are backing us in this initiative. We are exploring several technologies, including SAFs which look very promising: our Falcon jets can already fly with fuel containing 50 per cent SAF. However, only mixes with 30 per cent are currently available in the market. We must therefore accelerate the process. Our agreement with Groupe ADP will contribute, by furthering our ambition to work together toward the most effective solutions, both in this area and in many others," says chairman and CEO Éric Trappier.

"Decarbonising aviation will begin with small aircraft and will only be possible with the full involvement of the airport ecosystem. As infrastructure managers, we have a responsibility to accelerate, integrate and encourage the use of new technologies that make the environmental transition possible. Paris Le Bourget is the first airport in Europe to have a permanent double offering of sustainable aviation fuels. Around 3.2 million litres of SAF were sold in 2023. We are developing our facilities to enable our customers to electrify all of their ground operations. With Dassault Aviation, we are making an unprecedented commitment to see Paris Le Bourget airport become a model of low-carbon operations, through the full-scale deployment of sustainable fuels and the electrification of all ground operations," adds Augustin de Romanet, chairman and CEO of Groupe ADP.