Airlines

World’s first net zero transatlantic flight to fly from London in 2023

World first as Virgin Atlantic wins UK government funding to operate historic London – New York flight.

Virgin Atlantic to join SkyTeam alliance

World first as Virgin Atlantic wins UK government funding to operate historic London – New York flight.
Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Imperial College London, University of Sheffield, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and ICF also form part of an iconic British-led consortium.
Heralds future of low carbon aviation, with the wider sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry potentially creating thousands of UK jobs while supporting delivery of net zero aviation emissions by 2050.

The first ever net zero transatlantic flight will take off from the UK next year, with Virgin Atlantic receiving government funding to fly across the pond using solely sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

In 2023, one of Virgin Atlantic’s flagship Boeing 787s, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, will take off from London Heathrow and make the journey to New York’s John F Kennedy Airport – a journey made by thousands of people for business, family, and leisure every week. But this will be no ordinary journey.

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When fully replacing kerosene, SAF can slash lifecycle carbon emissions by more than 70% compared to conventional fossil jet fuel. This flight is expected to be fuelled by SAF made primarily from waste oils and fats, such as used cooking oil. The use of 100% SAF on the flight, combined with carbon removal through biochar credits – a material which traps and stores carbon taken from the atmosphere – will make the flight net zero.

Not only will SAF be key in decarbonising aviation, but it could create a UK industry with an annual turnover of £2.4bn by 2040, and which supports up to 5,200 UK jobs by 2035.

Delivering the transatlantic flight will help to gather the data needed to support ongoing and future work to test and certify higher blends of SAF and it’s non-CO2 impacts, while exploring how operational efficiency improvements, flight optimisation and carbon removals can contribute to achieving net-zero flights – not just in the UK, but for the global aviation industry.

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Aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise and without urgent collaborative action it could be one of the highest emitting sectors for greenhouse gases by 2050. To tackle this, the government published the Jet Zero Strategy in July 2022 which sets out our approach for decarbonising the sector and champions SAF as one of the main tools for achieving Jet Zero.

Airlines

Air India Express Aircraft Engine Part Falls Outside Delhi Airport; DGCA Orders Probe

Air India Express flight skids off runway while landing at Kochi airport

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an inquiry following reports that metal fragments were discovered at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after an Air India Express flight made an emergency landing on Monday evening.

The emergency landing was prompted by a detected engine fault, but fortunately, the landing was executed safely without any injuries to the passengers.

The situation began when crew members of the Air India Express flight reported an engine issue, leading to the emergency landing. The DGCA has confirmed that a thorough investigation is underway and has directed that the aircraft undergo a comprehensive safety inspection.

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The discovery of metal debris outside the airport has raised concerns, prompting the DGCA to probe whether these fragments are linked to the aircraft involved in the emergency landing. Authorities are particularly focused on whether the metal pieces, which were found near the airport, originated from the same Air India Express flight that experienced engine trouble.

While preliminary assessments suggest that the debris could be a broken blade from an aircraft engine, the exact source remains unconfirmed. The airline has yet to verify if the metal fragments are from their aircraft.

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The Delhi Police, working in conjunction with the DGCA, have initiated their own investigation to determine the origin of the metal pieces. A technical team is set to analyze whether the fragments are associated with the aircraft in question. As the investigation continues, a case has been filed with the airport authority to address the matter.