Virgin Atlantic Airlines Successfully Launches Travel By Environmentally Friendly Fueled Aircraft

Virgin flights with 100 percent environmentally friendly fuel (Twitter/@Virgin)

JAKARTA - Virgin Atlantic's Boeing 787 Dreamliner recorded history after successfully traveling on environmentally friendly fuels on Tuesday this week.

The plane received special permission from regulators to charge 100 percent of sustainable flight fuel (SAF), for a trip from London's Heathrow Airport, England to John F. Kennedy New York International Airport, United States.

Both of its Rolls-Royce engines are powered by a 60 tonne mixture of synthetic fatty waste and kerosene, which is thought to have 70 to 80 percent lower carbon emissions than standard jet fuels.

President Rolls-Royce for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa said it was a "symbolic incident" indicating that the fuel was technically feasible.

"This is a historic moment and an important milestone," he told The National News, as quoted November 30.

Meanwhile, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson said he was "very proud" when he boarded the plane.

Virgin Atlantic’s #Flight100 took to the skies today. The world’s first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) transatlantic flight by a commercial airline ✈ https://t.co/u75pv9hMbb @virginatlantic pic.twitter.com/LJQNfxpwiT

— Virgin (@Virgin) November 28, 2023

Virgin Atlantic’s #Flight100 took to the skies today. The world’s first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) transatlantic flight by a commercial airline ✈ https://t.co/u75pv9hMbb @virginatlantic pic.twitter.com/LJQNfxpwiT

"The world will always think something can't be done, until you do it," he said.

"The spirit of innovation arises and tries to prove, we can do better things in the interests of everyone," he continued.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this flight was "a milestone in making air travel more environmentally friendly and decarbonizing our sky," as quoted by The Guardian.

Meanwhile, British Transport Minister Mark Harper, who is also on the flight, said, "The 100 percent SAF-powered flight today shows how we can decarbonize transportation both today and in the future, reduce life cycle emissions by 70 percent and inspire next-generation solutions."

Minister Harper said the government would "continue to support the growing SAF industry in the UK, as the industry creates jobs, grows the economy and takes us towards zero jets."

Separately, activists said governments and airlines made misleading claims about the flight, particularly the Transportation Department's announcement that SAF would "realize flights without guilt".

Aviation Environment Federation Policy Director Cait Hewitt said: "The idea that this flight brings us closer to a feeling-free flight is a joke."

He said SAF production would be very difficult to improve sustainably, adding: "Hopefully, we will have better technological solutions in the future, but, for now, the only way to reduce CO2 from flight is to reduce the number of flights."

It is known that the UN-led aviation conference in Dubai last week agreed to target a 5 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, through the use of sustainable fuel, days before COP28 was held in the country. Currently, air travel accounts for about 2 percent of global carbon emissions.