The aviation industry is under mounting pressure to implement solutions that can make flying a more sustainable travel option.
According to the Air Transport Action Group, the industry is responsible for 12% of emissions from all transport sources and produces 2% of all human-induced carbon dioxide emissions. To tackle this, airlines are increasingly adopting measures and innovations that support a direction of travel headed towards climate-neutral growth, an immediate target set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Last year Lufthansa announced it was continuing to work closely with renewable fuel producer Neste, including plans to have a blend of sustainable fuel and fossil jet fuel on its flights out of Frankfurt. And Finnair has just signed a deal with Neste to rapidly increase its use of the company’s sustainable fuels, which cut CO2 emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil fuels.
“Currently, sustainable aviation fuel offers the only viable alternative to fossil liquid fuels for powering commercial aircraft. Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel is fully compatible with the existing jet engine technology and fuel distribution infrastructure when blended with fossil jet fuel,” said Peter Vanacker, Neste’s President and CEO.
Finnair plans to promote ticket offers later this year that will encourage customers to choose flights using sustainable aviation fuel options.
“We are excited about increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel in our operations from our Helsinki hub,” added Finnair’s CEO, Topi Manner. “Achieving concrete CO2 reductions is key to solving the CO2 challenge of aviation, and to ensure a sustainable future where the benefits of aviation can continue, while its climate impacts are dramatically reduced
The industry is also currently looking at recent research by Imperial College London, which revels that if just two percent of flights changed altitude it could trigger a 59% drop in contrail-linked climate change.
