Virgin Atlantic has won a competition to receive government funding for the first-ever net-zero transatlantic flight, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.
The flight will be powered by SAF, which is largely made from forestry or agricultural waste, such as cooking oil. The use of these fuels will allow Virgin Atlantic to reduce the flight's carbon emissions by about 70 per cent, with the remaining 30 per cent being offset by an investment in carbon removal technology.
Currently, safety regulators only allow a maximum of 50 per cent SAF blended with kerosene to be used in commercial jet engines.
However, the UK’s transport minister Baroness Vere said the flight would demonstrate that it was safe to fully power a passenger aircraft with the new fuels.
“For decades, flying from London to New York has symbolised aviation’s ability to connect people and drive international progress," said Mark Harper, the UK's transport secretary. ...