Yesterday, British Airways flew its first-ever passenger flight powered directly by sustainable aviation fuel.
The airline operated the short carbon-neutral flight from Heathrow in Glasgow at 11.28 local time. It reduced Co2 emissions by 62%.
The short journey on the airline’s sustainability aircraft replicated a flight British Airways operated to Edinburgh in 2010. At the time, neither offsetting nor sustainable aviation fuel was available to reduce the flight’s impact on the environment, and the journey was operated on an older aircraft carrying fewer passengers.
The aim of this week’s flight was to show how far the aviation industry has progressed in its efforts to decarbonise over the last decade.
The flight was directly powered by sustainable aviation fuel, provided by bp, blended at 35% with traditional jet fuel in accordance with technical aviation specifications.
A Better World
This is in conjunction with the airline’s new sustainability programme called BA Better World.
The airline partnered with Airbus to paint one of its most modern, fuel-efficient A320neos in its new sustainability programme colours.
Last week, the airline announced that its customers can purchase sustainable aviation fuel to reduce their carbon footprint via its not-for-profit organisation Pure Leapfrog. This is in addition to the existing option for customers to offset their emissions.
The UK is currently preparing to host the COP26 Climate Summit, taking place from Nov 1 to Nov 12.
