Finnair, a pioneer in sustainable flying and the first airline listed in the Leadership Index of the worldwide Carbon Disclosure Project, operated its flight from Helsinki to New York on 23 September with an Airbus A330 using environmentally sustainable biofuel, coinciding with the UN Climate Summit taking place in New York on the same day.
The airlines is proactive and trust in measures to improve environmental performance. Most of an airline’s environmental impact arises from aircraft emissions during flight, and switching to a more sustainable fuel source can reduce net CO2 emissions by between 50 and 80 per cent.
According to Finnair, the biofuel mixture powering the flight to New York was provided by SkyNRG Nordic a joint venture between SkyNRG and Statoil Aviation. The mixture is partly manufactured from cooking oil recycled from restaurants, an example of a biofuel alternative to ordinary jet fuel that significantly reduces net greenhouse gas emissions while also being sustainable in its own right.
Kati Ihamaki, Finnair’s vice-president of sustainable development, said: ‘The UN Climate Summit is an important gathering to fight climate change, and we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the climate benefits of more widespread adoption of environmentally sustainable biofuels in aviation. Finnair is committed to working further with industry partners and government bodies alike to help develop the biofuel supply chain and bring down the cost of sustainable biofuel for everyday use.”
Along with its partners, Finnair is also currently investigating the possibility of establishing a biofuel hub at Helsinki Airport.