Paul Kehoe, CEO of Birmingham Airport (right) congratulates Carl Gissingof Thomson Airways on the airline's, and UK's, first passenger biofuel flight Thomson Airways Boeing 757-2G5 G-OOBN operated the first ever
UK sustainable biofuel passenger flight from Birmingham Airport
on Thursday 6 October 2011
.
Flight TOM7446 which departed to Arrecife, Lanzarote, the Canary
Islands, at 1425 carrying 232 passengers using a bend of A1 jet fuel
with Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) fuel
.
Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s CEO, said, "We’re always seeking
new opportunities to work with partners and reduce our carbon
footprint so we’re very pleased to be involved in something which
has the potential to significantly reduce aviation’s impact on the
environment in the future"
.
Birmingham Airport is supporting the operation through the
provision of a dedicated fuel truck, independent technical
support and storage infrastructure
.
Chris Browne, Thomson Airways Managing Director, says:
"This is a very exciting day for Thomson Airways and a further
step in our commitment to invest in sustainable aviation biofuel.
We firmly believe the adoption of sustainable biofuels by airlines
will help achieve the Government’s carbon budget which commits
the UK to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2025. Most
strikingly, sustainable biofuel has the potential to reduce aviation
emissions by up to 80% in the long term"
.
The sustainable biofuel used by Thomson Airways is supplied
by Dutch-based company SkyNRG, which is advised by an
independent Sustainability Board consisting of two leading
NGOs and a leading Government scientific institute
.Dubai based company, Platinum Fuels, which recently launched
its first UK base at Birmingham Airport, was chosen as the fuel
handler for this biofuels programme. Its CEO, Tim Collins, said,
"To be involved in the UK’s first commercial sustainable jet fuel
operation is very exciting for us, particularly having only launched
our UK base this year. We look forward to working with all the
partners involved in the project"
. Daily Thomson Airways biofuels flights will start from early
2012 from Birmingham Airport for approximately six weeks. As
sustainable biofuels become more commercially viable, the airline
plans to expand its use of sustainable biofuels across its fleet
.Platinum Fuels Limited provide a wide range of services to the
aviation industry, ranging from fuel facility design, equipment
specification, project management, and full operation of airport
storage facilities and into-plane activities. They are headquartered
in Dubai with offices in the UK, South America, Europe and the
Asian sub-continent
.
SkyNRG’s mission is to help create the market for sustainable and affordable aviation fuel. They deliver a full "feedstock to flight" proposition powering structural "sustainable routes" across the world whilst doing everything possible to keep it affordable for the customer by smart supply and partner strategies
Thursday 6 October 2011
