A Virgin Atlantic flight will set off on Tuesday from London Heathrow for New York, a Boeing 787 shorn of paying passengers but with a payload of scientists, aviation leaders, politicians and media, and powered largely by used cooking oil – or as it is now better known, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The UK government and aviation industry hope the transatlantic journey, funded with £1m of taxpayer’s money, will demonstrate that greener flying is possible and its 2050 “jet zero” aspirations are more than hot air.
