Latest News Headlines and comment

British Airways is investing in a factory that will convert tonnes of household rubbish into enough jet fuel for all its flights from London City airport twice over. The Sunday Times reported this weekend that the partnership with Solena will lead to significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. The aviation industry has set out how biofuels will play a role in reducing emissions to 2000 levels in 2050.
Rt Hon Brian Wilson Comment from Rt Hon Brian Wilson

The roll-out of sustainable biofuels for aviation is moving from science-fiction to science reality as more airlines carry out test-flights and invest in development. It’s crucial that we use the world’s resources as responsibly as possible and at the same time explore all the technological possibilities in terms of alternative fuels.

That’s why FlyingMatters welcomes British Airways’ investment in a facility to reuse waste biomass and convert it into jet fuel. Other FM members including Airbus, Virgin, Boeing and Rolls-Royce have already conducted trials of different types of alternative fuels and the trials have proved that biofuels work, now the challenge is to make them practical on an industrial scale.

The aviation industry agrees that for biofuels to represent a real alternative they must be safe, not compete with food stocks, not contribute to deforestation and they must be commercially scalable.

Read the full article Posted by David Lewy
View more More news & all our latest comment

Recent News In brief

View more More news

Twitter Our latest update

Press Our latest press release

FlyingMatters reaction to public attitudes to air travel and the environment survey

Reacting to statistics published by the Department for Transport on attitudes to air travel and the environment, showing that the proportion of people willing to pay extra fell from 69% in 2006 to 60% in 2010 among those who do believe that air travel harms the environment and from 50% to 40% among those who have flown in the last 12 months, Brian Wilson, Chairman of FlyingMatters said: "Just as the public's appetite for paying more for flying is waning, the Government plan to push ahead with eye-watering rises in the tax on flying so that from November a family of four will pay up to £340 in tax alone. This will push flying out of the reach of many ordinary families who only fly occasionally."

Read release July 29 2010

Current poll Have your say

What do you think of our new design?

Loading ... Loading ...

Latest Campaign

Campaign APD

Who are our members?

FlyingMatters represents a broad coalition of all those interested in supporting sustainable growth in aviation including businesses, trade unions, tourism bodies as well as the aviation industry.

Who are we?

FlyingMatters seeks to contribute to a balanced and informed debate on aviation's contribution to climate change and to ensure proper account is taken within this debate of its economic and social benefits.