Back in February 2020, when the UK aviation industry signed a pledge to cut net carbon emissions to zero by mid-century, then Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye reached for a memorable analogy. “I imagine it’s like it is for alcoholics,” he said. “The first step is to admit we have a problem —and then do something about it.”
In such a context, perhaps Virgin Atlantic’s transatlantic flight last November powered solely by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) should be viewed as that first tentative night out with friends sipping alcohol-free beer. Made from a blend of waste fats and plant sugars, the innovative fuel —indistinguishable from the real stuff to the naked eye —has the potential to slash CO2 emissions by up to 70%, compared to fossil-based jet fuel, over the course of its lifecycle.
“History has been made,” said UK secretary of state for transport Mark Harper, on arrival in New York. Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson enthused: “The world will always assume something can’t be done, until you do it.”
But whether the ‘chip fat flight’, as it was labelled in some quarters, comes to be seen as a pioneering moment on the path to carbon-neutral aviation or merely a stunt to
