| Green Travel News |
A Finnair flight between Amsterdam and Helsinki next week will be the longest commercial biofuel flight flown anywhere in the world to date.
“We want to be a pioneer in sustainable development in air transport. Engine emissions account for the biggest environmental impact of flying, so investing in research into alternative fuels is a natural way to try to reduce the load on the environment,” says Kati Ihamäki, VP sustainable development at Finnair.
Biofuel refers to fuel made from renewable organic raw materials. The plants used in the production of biofuel absorb carbon dioxide, which is released back into the atmosphere when the biofuel combusts.
Finnair says it will accept for regular use only a biofuel that is socially, ecologically and economically sustainable. In other words, growing the plants used to make biofuel must “significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, must not compromise food production or lead to biodiversity degradation or deforestation.”
For this biofuel flight Finnair will use biofuel made from recycled vegetable oil (i.e. used cooking oil) in a mixture that is half biofuel and half ordinary aviation fuel. The airline says it believes that adoption of “green routes” will help accelerate the development of sustainable and affordable jet fuels, which have the potential to reduce aviation emissions by up to 80% in the long-term.
