Thomson’s ‘chip-fat’ flight condemned
Thomson Airways launched the first passenger flight powered by biofuel yesterday but as the company was celebrating its success green campaigners damned it as an irresponsible PR stunt.
The Boeing 757 four-hour flight from Birmingham to Lanzarote, with 232 passengers onboard, had one engine powered with a 50% blend of hdroprocessed esters and fatty acids mixed with jet fuel.
Parent company TUI Travel claimed the flight put Thomson Airways at the forefront of sustainable aviation and plans to run the rest of its fleet on bioefuels within three years, but airportwatch, which campaigns against aviation expansion, said it was a gimmick that would end up harming the environment.
Friends of the Earth (FoE) also warned that rather than making flying greener, the use of biofuels for flights will wreck rainforests, push up food prices and increase climate-changing emissions.
Thomson Airways had originally planned to launch a test flight at the end of July running on used cooking oil, but FoE claimed company was unable to source enough fuel in time and had to postpone. Thomson said the delay was caused by testing and safety clearances.
FoE biofuels campaigner Kenneth Richter said: "It’s not surprising Thomson couldn’t find enough used cooking oil to fly to Lanzarote – it would take about a hundred years for each passenger to save up enough chip fat."
Aviation minister Theresa Villiers welcomed the flight. She said: “The government believes sustainable biofuels have a role to play in efforts to tackle climate change, particularly in sectors where no other viable low carbon energy source has been identified.”
Thomson Airways managing director Chris Browne said: “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.
"Sustainable biofuel has the potential to reduce aviation emissions by up to 80% in the long term.”
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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