Swiss Helicopter offers carbon neutral flights

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The Swiss Helicopter company, based in Altstadt, Switzerland, has made all its passenger flights exclusively climate-neutral from the beginning of this year. The company – which specialises in passenger and transport flights, pilot training and helicopter maintenance – claims to be the first Swiss airline to implement all CO2-neutral passenger flights.

Rolf Heuberger, CEO, Swiss Helicopter said the company would shoulder most of the additional costs of implementing the new carbon-neutral policy. “However, we are convinced that customers will also accept the slightly higher costs for passenger flights,” he added. “We are very pleased to be able to make a valuable contribution to climate protection together with our customers.”

From this month, the company is also offering a climate-neutral option for flights transporting freight and training missions.

Swiss Helicopter is achieving carbon neutral flights through a combination of using using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and a partnership with a German company to deliver carbon recovery.

High demand from aviation companies, low SAF production volume and the associated high prices means the fuel is available only in limited quantities, said the company. Plus, current legislation requires a maximum blend of 50% SAF. “Therefore, in order to be able to fly in a climate-neutral manner, Swiss Helicopter is dependent on being able to compensate for the remaining emissions,” it said. “This is achieved through a collaboration with the German partner company Carbonfuture, which is active in the field of recovering CO2 from the air (carbon removal) using plant carbon.”

Customer demand for carbon neutral flights was steadily growing, it added.

The company’s fleet includes: an Ecureuil H125, Colibri H120, Cabri G2, Kamov KA32 and Super Puma AS 332. Swiss Helicopter’s missions include passenger flights and freight transport in urban areas.

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