Air France, Airbus complete “greenest flight”
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Air France and Airbus have completed what they claim to be world’s greenest commercial flight. The two companies used the latest fuel and air traffic management technologies on the flight from Toulouse to Paris, halving the CO2 emissions of a regular flight, with a fuel efficiency of 2.2 litres of fuel per passenger.
The Airbus A321 aircraft’s two engines were 50% filled with biofuel, and the plane operated optimised air traffic management (ATM) and efficient Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) to minimise CO2 emissions. During a CDA procedure, the aircraft descends continuously, avoiding level flight prior to the final approach, requiring significantly less engine thrust and therefore less fuel burn.
“This flight is the perfect example of Airbus global approach towards continuously reducing aviation’s CO2 footprint” said Andrea Debbane, Airbus’ Head Environmental Affairs. “This is not just a biofuel flight but the first flight that really puts into practice elements in the Airbus roadmap: bio-fuels, optimised ATM, green navigation.”