Virgin Atlantic lands permit for 100% SAF flight

Virgin Atlantic is one step closer to a transatlantic flight fueled 100% by sustainable aviation fuel after it received regulatory certification in the United Kingdom from the Civil Aviation Authority this week. [caption id="attachment_57065977" align="alignright" width="300"] (Photo/Virgin Atlantic Cargo)[/caption] Announced in July, the Virgin Atlantic-led consortium — including Rolls Royce , Boeing , Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) , U.K . Department of Transport , University of Sheffield and the Imperial College of London — scheduled the sustainable flight, the “world’s first” on a commercial-sized aircraft, for Nov. 28, the company said in a press release. The carrier will operate a Boeing 787 aircraft from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic told Air Cargo Next . The flight’s purpose is to demonstrate the feasibility of commercial-sized aircraft operating entirely with alternative fuel as the aviation industry works toward net-zero targets , according to the press release. The 60 tonnes of SAF to be used on the flight will be provided by Air bp and Vibrant , the release stated. “Although this flight’s primary goal is to demonstrate the use of 100% SAF (in both engines!) for the first time over a transatlantic route, it is also advancing research on the non-CO2 impacts of aviation as well,” Joey Cathcart, a member of the RMI carbon-free buildings team who will be a passenger on the flight, told Air Cargo Next . “RMI’s role in the project has been in support of the non-CO2 workstream, helping to create a process for reporting observed contrails in-flight to verify and calibrate contrail prediction models,” he added. “This pilot reporting process is a novel way to collect significant amounts of data needed to ensure modeling accuracy.” Supply issues remain Despite concerns over costs and availability, SAF is commonly considered to be the quickest method toward a more sustainable future in aviation. It is developed from waste products such as animal fats and food and agricultural waste. TIACA ’s Director General, Glyn Hughes, projects that the industry will need 450 billion liters of SAF by 2050 to reach net zero. Only 322 million liters were produced in 2022. “Alongside fleet transformation, SAF is the most readily available way for our industry to decarbonize, but currently there’s not enough supply and, without it and the radical collaboration required to produce it, we can’t meet our 2030 targets,” Virgin Chief Executive Shai Weiss said in the release. “We need U.K. government support to create a U.K. SAF industry to allow for every single flight out of the U.K. to operate with 100% SAF.” Virgin will also need permits from Ireland and the United States before it can operate its flight later this month, the company noted. While smaller aircraft have been operated using 100% SAF, sources told Air Cargo Next that this is the first time an aircraft with multiple engines will be flying with all SAF, free of petroleum. “The biggest benefit this flight offers is confidence that sustainable flight can be achieved, and it can be replicated,” Cathcart said. “The hardest part is getting started, but once you have, the sky’s the limit. This flight will help send a demand signal to the market indicating that the aviation industry is ready for SAF to scale, a requirement for the industry to meet its net-zero targets.” Virgin Atlantic ranks 45th on Air Cargo Next ’s Freight 50, a list of the top 50 carriers ranked by overall CTKs in 2022. The carrier moved 1.2 billion CTKs in 2022.

Virgin Atlantic lands permit for 100% SAF flight

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