UK’s first biofuel flight to take off
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Thomson Airways today becomes the first UK airline to fly a commercial passenger flight using a plane powered by biofuel. The company will fly 232 passengers from Birmingham to Lanzarote at 2.25pm today, but rather than using standard jetfuel to fill up the Boeing 757’s fuel tanks, Thomson will be using 50-50 mix of plant-based biofuel and traditional jet kerosene.
Aviation Minister, Theresa Villiers congratulated the airline on the move. “I wish them well with this project,” she said. “We want aviation to flourish and grow but we have also been clear that the environmental impacts of flying must be addressed. I welcome the efforts being made by the UK aviation and aerospace industries to drive forward the technological change we need to tackle this challenge effectively.”
Following today’s flight, Thomson said there would then be a short gap before its starts daily biofuel operations in early 2012. Birmingham airport is providing a dedicated fuel truck and storage infrastructure to support the project.
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