Gazpromneft-Aero, the aviation subsidiary of the Russian oil firm Gazprom Neft, has completed a successful pilot of its blockchain-based refueling project, Smart Fuel.
It has been reported that the new platform was implemented for more than 100 scheduled flights of Russian budget airline Smartavia, operating at Murmansk’s international airport. Alongside Smartavia, the pilot involved major banks VTB and Raiffeisenbank.
Dmitry Makarov, the head of the Smart Fuel project, said that the blockchain-based trial in Murmansk ran from September 2020 to December 2020.
Makarov said that after the successful pilot, Gazpromneft-Aero will continue providing its refueling payment solution to Smartavia.
However, based on the major blockchain framework Hyperledger Fabric, the new tool uses smart contracts to automate and accelerate refueling payment processing times.
Refueling aircraft just got a lot easier thanks to blockchain technology. New tools developed by Hyperledger Fabric have automated payment processing times. Could this be the future of the aviation industry? https://t.co/0eDKBCFOhi — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 1, 2021
Gazpromneft-Aero said that the system is capable of processing refueling payments in a matter of seconds, while traditional payment transactions usually take up to four or five days.
Makarov explained that the traditional process for refueling payments is paperwork-heavy and involves excessive spending.
He added:
“Since it’s impossible to forecast the exact volume of fuel needed for a flight, airlines need to transfer an excessive amount of funds to fuel operators to make sure there’s enough to cover the refueling.”
Thus, he concluded that the new tool guarantees data safety and maximum transparency for all the participants in a transaction.
Source: Cointelegraph