‘Will you risk flying…’: Arvind Kejriwal says govt allows ethanol blending in aviation fuel

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the government allows ethanol blending in aviation fuel. BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya responded to Kejriwal’s claims and said it was “fake news”.

Kejriwal’s post came based on a government notification from April when India permitted the blending of ethanol and other synthetic or man-made hydrocarbons in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) but did not set any immediate mandatory blending targets. This came after amendments to the Aviation Turbine Fuel (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001, under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 that broadened the definition of ATF to include blends with synthetic hydrocarbons.

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“Sources indicate that the Modi govt plans to mix ethanol in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). Experts say that this could seriously compromise the safety of flights,” he posted on X.

To this, Malviya responded: “This claim is misleading. The Government has not announced blending ordinary ethanol into Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). What has been notified is the inclusion of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) within the regulatory framework for ATF. SAF is not raw ethanol. It is aviation-grade fuel produced through advanced processing that is chemically similar to conventional ATF and is fully compatible with aircraft engines.”

Malviya added that before any SAF is approved for aviation use it must undergo rigorous testing and certification under international standards. He also claimed that SAF does not alter the fundamental nature, safety or performance of aviation fuel.

Kejriwal in response said: “The engine of your flight just might stop in the air. Will you risk flying in an aircraft running on adulterated aviation fuel? Time to have an educated and competent govt.”

The Ministry of Civil Aviation rejected the claims that ethanol would be blended with ATF.

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He also responded to Malviya to emphasise that no decision was taken on increasing ethanol blending in petrol beyond E20 “yet”. Kejriwal accused the Modi government of waiting for the atmosphere to cool down before they actually implement it.

“Just like E20 was implemented without any scientific study, without listening to anyone, by silencing everyone through threats, you'll implement E50 in the same way. That's your style of working. Where do you even respect science, engineering, and technology? If you conducted any study before implementing E20, then why don't you make their report public? Why are you hiding it?” he asked.

WHAT IS THE ATF AMENDMENT?

Under the amendments that Kejriwal pointed out, aviation turbine fuel is now defined as a mixture of hydrocarbons conforming to IS 1571 specifications or blends with synthetic hydrocarbons under IS 17081 standards. This basically enabled the inclusion of newer fuel variants.

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Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is produced by converting renewable feedstocks, such as waste oils and fats, sugar and cereal, municipal solid waste, wood and agricultural residues, or CO2, in ATF to cut emissions. SAF is also sometimes referred to as synthetic or man-made hydrocarbons.