The first ever net-zero transatlantic flight is scheduled for 2023, using solely sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

In 2023, a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, will take off from London Heathrow and make the journey to New York’s John F Kennedy Airport burning SAF made primarily from waste oils and fats, such as used cooking oil.

The use of SAF on the flight, combined with carbon removal through biochar credits – a material which traps and stores carbon taken from the atmosphere – will make the flight net-zero.

Currently, aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise and to tackle this, the Government published the Jet Zero Strategy in July 2022 which set an approach for decarbonising the sector and champions SAF as one of the main tools for achieving Jet Zero.

Challenges remain, however, including the need to scale up SAF production and the existing limit on how much SAF is permitted in jet engines by current fuel specifications. Today, a maximum of 50 per cent SAF blended with kerosene can be used in commercial jet engines. However, using solely SAF will now demonstrate the potential to decarbonise long-haul routes.

The world’s first sustainable fuel military transporter flight using 100 per cent SAF, was completed by the RAF last month.

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