A group of companies in the travel industry have joined
together this week to demonstrate that the perfect net zero flight can be
achieved.
Heathrow Airport, British Airways, Airbus, bp, Glasgow
Airport and NATS worked together to operate a flight between London and Glasgow
demonstrating how the industry could decarbonise aviation.
The BA flight, operated by an A320neo, was powered directly
by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), provided by bp, blended at 35 per cent with
traditional jet fuel. The remaining emissions produced by the flight were
offset.
The aircraft was pushed back at Heathrow using electric
Mototok vehicles powered by the airport’s supply of renewable electricity while
air traffic controllers at NATS optimised the routing and flight level to avoid
additional fuel burn.
The companies said carbon emissions were 62 per cent lower compared
to a comparable flight a decade ago – with 34 per cent of the savings coming from
efficient aircraft and operations, 28 per cent from the use of SAF and the
remaining 38 per cent offset using high quality, verified carbon offsets.
Heathrow CEO, John Holland-Kaye said: “[This] shows that the
solutions to deliver net zero flight exist, we just need to scale them up. The
faster we scale up supply and use of SAFs, the faster we can decarbonise
aviation and protect the benefits of flying in a world without carbon. What is
needed urgently is for Government to introduce policies to increase the supply
of SAF and to provide the right price incentives for airlines to use it.”
British Airways’ chairman and CEO, Sean Doyle said: “This
flight offered a practical demonstration of the progress we’re making in our
carbon reduction journey. By working together with our industry partners we’ve
delivered a 62 per cent improvement in emissions reductions compared to a
decade ago. This marks real progress in our efforts to decarbonise and shows
our determination to continue innovating, working with governments and industry
and accelerating the adoption of new low carbon solutions.”