Virgin Atlantic has become the first airline to fly a transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel.
The Boeing 787 passenger jet – dubbed Flight 100 – took off from London’s Heathrow Airport on Tuesday morning for New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, carrying Virgin Atlantic billionaire founder Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss and UK transport secretary Mark Harper, Reuters reported.
The flight marks the first time a long-haul commercial flight will be powered entirely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). It’s due to land at JFK at 14:40 EST.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority granted Virgin Atlantic and its partners, including Rolls-Royce, Boeing and BP, permission to fly using only SAF following a series of technical reviews last year.
Sustainable aviation fuel is a low-carbon energy source produced from non-petroleum feedstocks, according to the US Department of Energy. Designed to reduce emissions from aviation, sustainable aviation fuel has properties similar to conventional jet fuel, but with a smaller carbon footprint.
“Flight 100 proves that Sustainable Aviation Fuel can be used as a safe, drop-in replacement for fossil-based jet fuel, and it’s the only viable solution for decarbonising long-haul aviation,” said Virgin Atlantic’s Weiss in a statement. “It has taken radical collaboration to get here and we’re proud to have reached this important milestone, but we need to keep going.”
The fuel used for Tuesday’s flight was a blend of mostly processed cooking oil and waste animal fat, Virgin Atlantic said. The fuel also contained 12% synthetic aromatic kerosene made from waste corn.
The low-carbon fuel is expected to keep the aviation industry running with lower emissions before electric and hydrogen-powered flights become a reality. It is already used in jet engines, but is blended with conventional fuel.
According to the International Energy Agency, air travel will account for 2% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions by 2022.
“The world will always assume something can’t be done until you do it,” Branson said in a statement about Tuesday’s flight. “The spirit of innovation is getting out there and trying to prove that we can do things better for everyone’s benefit.”
