British Airways to use waste-based jet fuel

Published 2:57 pm Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Yesterday, British Airways announced plans to establish Europe’s first sustainable jet-fuel plant with partner the Solena Group.

The airline plans to begin using fuel from the facility to power part of its aircraft fleet by 2014.

The facility will convert annually 500,000 tons of waste, bound for the landfill, into “green” jet fuel.

By using the green jet fuel, rather than regular petroleum-based fuel, British Airways is slashing its carbon emissions the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one year.

The airline has a goal of cutting its carbon emissions by 50 percent by the year 2050.

“We are absolutely determined to reduce our impact on climate change and are proud to lead the way on aviation’s environmental initiatives,” said Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways.