THE first ever transatlantic flight run entirely on discarded cooking oil, among other waste products, took to the skies this week.
Virgin Atlantic’s VS100 soared across the pond on the world’s busiest route from London Heathrow to New York on a Dreamliner run entirely on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is made from waste products like wood chips, old oils and food waste.
The flight, which received a million pound injection from the UK government, was a first in the industry and a step towards proving that air travel can be greener, says Richard Branson, boss of the Virgin Group.
Speaking just before take off, he said: “Go back 12 months and no one ever dreamt that planes would have anything other than a carbon footprint.”
“Up until tonight people thought it would be impossible to fly across the Atlantic on SAF.”
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Unlike traditional fossil jet fuels used in most commercial flights, SAF produces up to 70 per cent less carbon emissions and has been hailed by the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, as the “key to de-carbonising the aviation industry”.
Although there are other technologies propelling the aviation industry into a sustainable future, such as electric and hydrogen-powered aircrafts, the huge benefit of this alternative fuel is that you can use it with existing engines and existing planes.
This means that the alternative fuel and sustainable air travel is available to the average holidaymaker, flying on the same planes they do today.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner operating Virgin’s Flight100 - which is fitted with Rolls Royce engines - did not carry any paying passengers.
It was granted a special permit to fly with 110 guests and crew on board, including Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic boss, Shai Weiss and the Transport Secretary, Mark Harper.
Currently commercial jets are only permitted to fly on a blend of up to 50 per cent SAF and 50 per cent traditional jet fuel, however Branson is hoping that his wonder flight will be one of many more to come.
He said: “There’s still a lot of work to be done… but I think that one day it will become the norm”.
This type of alternative fuel does present some problems though, mainly its availability as well as its steep cost which Branson feels may never come down to level with the cost of current, less-sustainable fuels.
This means that holidaymakers could end up shelling out more for a getaway.
The future still appears green for Virgin Atlantic though.
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The airline has joined many others in committing to using 10 per cent SAF in all flights by 2030, which Shai Weiss described as a “realistic timeframe” despite growing pressure to achieve net zero by 2050.
