The airline industry spews about 800 megatons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, roughly 2 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. There is an increasing need to decarbonize air travel, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll be cutting the cord on it anytime soon.
Air travel is imperative for global connectivity, with roughly 100,000 flights in transit every day carrying people and goods around the world. Aircrafts come with a lengthy list of qualifications, like the need to be lightweight, fuel efficient, reliable, cost effective, quickly refuelable, and able to fly long distances – it’s not so easy to change them.
The looming question that emerges is: Can flying ever truly be sustainable? Maybe it can, though biofuels are likely a near-term bridge to a future in which aircrafts are powered by hydrogen or even electricity. But none of these options come without their set of challenges.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel
November 2024 marked a milestone in the field of aviation. Virgin Atlantic's Flight100, a Boeing 787, embarked on the world's first transatlantic flight from London to New York powered entirely by biofuel – fuel derived from organic matter rather than fossil fuels.
