First Transatlantic Flight Using 100% Pure SAF Takes Off, Virgin Atlantic Founder On Board

Tuesday’s Virgin Atlantic flight, partly funded by the UK government, has been hailed by the aviation industry and ministers as a demonstration of the potential to significantly cut net carbon emissions from flying.

The first transatlantic flight by a commercial airliner using 100 per cent pure Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) took off from the UK's Heathrow on Tuesday. The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight to US' New York JFK touched the Heathrow skyline sometime before 12 am. The founder of Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson and British Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, were on the flight. However, there were no paying passengers who accompanied them on the trip. 

Branson took to X to share his excitement about the journey and wrote, "So proud to be onboard @VirginAtlantic’s Flight100 today, the world’s first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) transatlantic flight by a commercial airline."

According to an NDTV report, before hopping on the flight, the Virgin Atlantic Founder said, "The world will always assume something can't be done until you do it. The spirit of innovation is getting out there and trying to prove that we can do things better for everyone's benefit."

Virgin Atlantic while posting the video of the flight wrote, "History at 38,000ft. Virgin Atlantic is currently flying the world's first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel flight across the Atlantic by a commercial airline. Flight100 marks the culmination of more than a year of radical cross-industry collaboration to see this take to the skies."

Tuesday’s Virgin Atlantic flight, partly funded by the UK government, has been hailed by the aviation industry and ministers as a demonstration of the potential to significantly cut net carbon emissions from flying, although scientists and environmental groups are extremely sceptical.

According to the UK government, this marks a major milestone in the journey of making air travel more environment-friendly. This becomes even more important at this time because the world is spearheading towards the goal of achieving net zero by 2050.

Airlines have previously flown on a blend of up to 50% of alternative fuels, called sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), and Flight VS100 is operating under special dispensation with no paying passengers, using fuel made mostly from tallow and other waste products.

Transport Secretary prior to the take-off said, the government "will continue to support the UK's emerging SAF industry as it creates jobs, grows the economy and gets us to Net Zero".

According to news agency AFP, the UK government announced in December 2022 that it was providing up to $1.26 million in support of the project which was being led by Virgin in collaboration with the University of Sheffield, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce.