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Virgin Atlantic has welcomed the UK think tank Policy Exchange’s statement that sustainable biofuels should be used to cut emissions in the aviation industry.
The airline was the first to use biofuel to fly its commercial aircraft between London Heathrow and Amsterdam in February 2008.
Director of corporate responsibility and government affairs, Jill Brady, said: “We welcome the Policy Exchange’s call for prioritising the use of sustainable biofuels by the aviation industry.
“Biofuels for aviation are in their infancy and so we are in a unique position to ensure that this new fuel supply chain evolves sustainably from the outset. The right biofuels have the potential to substantially reduce aviation emissions in the medium to long term.”
However, the airline disagrees with a section of the report which states that “an EU Sustainable Bio-Jet Blending Mandate should be introduced from 2020. “ This would entail increasing the proportion of jet fuel to come from or be blended with sustainable bio-jet fuels.
Virgin Atlantic reckons that biofuels should be used in aircraft at the point of production, for example on flights from Africa to the UK, rather than shipped in to the EU to power flights back to where they were cultivated.
