Process optimization and reaction kinetics of catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of waste cooking oil (WCO) into jet fuels using zeolite-supported Ni-Co-Mo oxides catalyst in a packed-bed reactor were studied. Experiments were conducted at three different temperatures (360, 390, and 420 degrees C) to determine the rate constants, the order of reaction, and the activation energy. The kinetics study showed a first-order reaction with the activation energy estimated to be 84 +/- 18.7 kJ/mol WCO with 95% confidence. Design of experiment (DOE) was employed to estimate the optimum reaction parameters using the polynomial model (383.7 degrees C; 14.8 bar; WCO-to-2-propanol ratio = 1.57 mL/mL; weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) = 6.7 h(-1)). Validation of the model at the optimum operating conditions generated 80% yield of liquid products with 77% alkanes, 3.8% alkenes, and 12.3% aromatics composition, and 6.7% gases, and 100% conversion of WCO. The catalyst was prepared via the wet impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption and desorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Characterization of the catalyst revealed a cubic structure, which was maintained after one cycle of CTH reaction. Present in both the fresh and the used catalysts were Na2O, K2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, CaO, FeO, Fe2O3, which highlight the composition of zeolite. The active sites were dominated by Co3+, Ni2+, and Mo6+ that were respectively present in the form of Co2O3, NiO, and MoO3.